Heirloom Confirmed As Rare U.S. Coin
Posted on: Monday, 5 September 2005, 18:00 CDT
CONCORD, N.H. - This small coin is worth much more than its weight in gold. A coin owned by generations of a California family has been confirmed by numismatics as one of only 12 known existing "Quarter Eagle" coins, which were made of Gold Rush ore at the San Francisco Mint in 1854.
"The coin is only about the size of a dime and contains just one-eighth ounce of California gold, but I guarantee it will be worth much more than its weight in gold when it's sold at the auction," said John Kraljevich, director of research at American Numismatic Rarities of Wolfeboro, which authenticated the coin and will auction it.
The seller, who wants to remain anonymous, descends from Chinese immigrants who worked the California gold fields. The seller's great-grandfather acquired it between 1856 and 1858, said Kraljevich.
He said the family took great care with the coin and only one of the dozen known examples is in better condition. The others are all owned by collectors.
During the Gold Rush, depositors turned ore into coins for easy shipment and exchange, said Douglas Mudd, curator of the American Numismatic Association Money Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Only 246 Quarter Eagles were made in 1854, he said Monday. Many $10 and $20 coins were struck, but smaller denominations were in less demand, so fewer $5 Half Eagles and $2.50 denomination Quarter Eagles were made.
"You get a sense of the raw frontier, the 49ers and everything else when you hold a coin like this," Mudd said. "It's really the start of California, what it is today, occurring at that time. It really is a piece of history."
He said the coin would attract high-end collectors and investors and push the price to considerably more than $150,000. The auction is Sept. 18 in Beverly Hills, Calif.
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On the Web:
- American Numismatic Rarities http://www.AmericanCoinRarities.com
- American Numismatic Association http://www.money.org
Source: Associated Press/AP Online
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