View All U.S. Assay Office / Humbert (1851-1852)

ND U.S. Assay Office Fifty Dollar - Copper, Eagle Hub Trial

Strike Type

Coin Details

Denomination

Territorial

Series

California Gold (1849-1855)

Designer

Augustus Humbert (U.S. Assayer)

Composition

Copper

Diameter

42mm

Description

This copper hub trial from the U.S. Assay Office preserves an impression from the eagle hub used in preparing dies for the fifty-dollar gold pieces. Hub trials were produced by pressing a hub into a soft copper planchet to verify design quality and depth before creating working dies. The eagle hub trial shows only one side of the design, as it was produced from a single hub rather than a complete pair of dies. The heraldic eagle design is rendered in sharp detail on the copper planchet, which received the impression more cleanly than harder die steel would. Hub trials from territorial gold operations are exceptionally rare, as they were tools of the manufacturing process rather than products intended for distribution. Most such pieces would have been discarded after serving their purpose, making any survivor a significant numismatic artifact.