1860 Parsons & Co. Gold Ingot

About This Coin

Designed by John Parsons and Co. and struck in gold during the first year of Colorado's territorial gold production, the 1860 Parsons Gold Ingot is one of the rarest issues in the Colorado Gold series. Unlike coin-format pieces from Clark, Gruber and Co., the Parsons ingot takes the form of a gold bar stamped with the assayer's name, weight, and fineness — the traditional format for privately assayed gold where standardized coinage dies were unavailable. John Parsons operated in the Tarryall mining district of South Park, one of the early Pikes Peak camps that attracted prospectors following the 1858 Cherry Creek discoveries. The ingot format served miners and merchants requiring portable, verified gold for transactions exceeding small-denomination coin values. Extremely rare with very few confirmed survivors, the Parsons Gold Ingot occupies a category between coined money and bullion — a transitional monetary form predating organized Colorado Territory minting operations. These pieces document the earliest phase of Colorado's gold economy, when individual assayers certified gold by stamping their guarantee directly onto refined metal.