1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. Twenty Dollar Die Trial - Copper

Coin Details

Auction Record

$10,575 AU53BN 03-09-2017 Kagin's

Description

This copper die trial was produced from the dies of Clark, Gruber & Company's twenty-dollar gold piece — the largest denomination struck by the most prominent private coiner of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Clark Gruber's operation in Denver City was the largest and most trusted private mint in the Rocky Mountain region, producing gold coins that circulated widely among miners, merchants, and settlers in Colorado Territory. Their 1860 double eagle features "PIKES PEAK GOLD" on the obverse with a depiction of the famous mountain that symbolized the Colorado gold discovery, and "TWENTY D." with an eagle on the reverse. The firm's founders — Austin M. Clark, Milton E. Clark, and Emanuel H. Gruber — brought banking experience and integrity to their coinage operation, and their coins were generally accepted at or near face value in regional commerce. This copper die trial served the practical purpose of verifying these large-diameter dies before committing gold planchets to the press. Given that each double eagle contained roughly an ounce of gold, die testing in copper was an economical necessity. Clark Gruber's 1860 coinage was produced during the first year of their operation, making these early die trials artifacts of the firm's startup phase. The $20 denomination was their flagship product, the coin that most directly competed with federal double eagles in the western money supply. Within two years, the federal government would purchase the Clark Gruber facility for $25,000, eventually transforming it into the Denver Mint.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Copper die trials from Clark Gruber's double eagle dies are known in only a tiny number of specimens; the firm's gold $20 pieces are themselves major territorial rarities.

Cross References

Clark, Gruber & Company; Pikes Peak Gold Rush territorial coinage