1861 J.J. Conway & Co. Two and a Half Dollar - Conway-1956 Restrike, K-1 Goldine

Coin Details

Description

The 1861 Clark, Gruber & Company quarter eagle restrike in goldine is a twentieth-century numismatic production made by Harold Conway in 1956, using transfer dies derived from the original Clark, Gruber & Company $2.50 gold coin dies. The "goldine" composition is a brass-based alloy with a golden color, used to produce affordable reproductions with the visual appearance of gold. Clark, Gruber & Company was a prominent banking and private minting firm in Denver, Colorado Territory, that produced gold coins in $2.50, $5, $10, and $20 denominations during 1860-1861. The company was established by Austin M. Clark, Milton E. Clark, and Emanuel H. Gruber, processing gold dust from the Pike's Peak mining district into coined money for the regional economy. Their coins were of high quality and generally contained full gold value, earning widespread acceptance throughout the Colorado Territory and beyond. The Conway restrikes of 1956 were produced using transfer dies — secondary dies created by using surviving original coins as hubs — rather than the actual original dies from the 1860s. Harold Conway produced these restrikes in several compositions including goldine, copper, and other base metals. The K-1 designation refers to the Kagin catalog number for the original Clark, Gruber quarter eagle. While these Conway restrikes are clearly modern productions, they provide collectors with affordable examples of the Clark, Gruber design and maintain awareness of this important Colorado territorial mint.

Rarity Notes

Scarce. Conway 1956 restrikes in goldine were produced in limited quantities. Approximately 50-100 examples survive. These are clearly identified as modern restrikes and trade at modest prices compared to original Clark, Gruber coinage.

Cross References

PCGS #525182; Kagin K-1 (Clark, Gruber Quarter Eagle); Conway-1956 Restrike