1860 Parsons & Co. Gold Ingot Twenty Dollar

Coin Details

Description

The 1860 Parsons & Company Gold Ingot represents a unique form of Colorado territorial gold: a stamped ingot rather than a traditional coin. John Parsons & Company operated as an assayer and gold dealer in the Pikes Peak region, producing small gold ingots that served as a medium of exchange alongside coined money. The ingot bears the Parsons & Company stamp certifying the weight and fineness of the gold content. Unlike the carefully designed coins of Clark, Gruber & Company, Parsons ingots were purely functional items intended to facilitate commerce by providing a standardized form of gold for transactions. Gold ingots from Colorado territorial assayers occupy a distinct category in frontier numismatics. They represent the most primitive form of standardized gold currency, predating and existing alongside the more sophisticated coined money produced by operations like Clark Gruber and J.J. Conway.

Rarity Notes

Extremely rare. Parsons gold ingots are among the rarest forms of Colorado territorial gold, with fewer than 10 known examples.

Cross References

NGC #31348