1870 California Gold Piece Half Dollar

I picked this up at auction and I cannot find a whole lot of information on it.
I only found one site that had this BG# on it, with an idea of value.
I was just wondering if there was anyone here that was knowledgable about California Gold Pieces.
Is it R-4 and what would the approximate value be ?
Thanks.

 

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"Values" are usualy determined by recently completed auction prices.
It gets harder to determin values, when you start to narrow a coin's variety, because there aren't many records to research.

I would consider your underbidder's top bid to be a good estimate of value.
Good luck!

 

Thank you, gentlemen !

I'll look over Heritage and look up Breen & Gillio's work.

I only had to bid over one other bid, which was $130.

 

Hey, worst case scenario is that it is worth at least its weight in gold, right? :thumb:

 

Yo Roto,

I know absolutely nothing about that piece but it is cool!

Kinda curious though. How large is a half buck of gold back then? Like a Three Cent Silver?

P.S. Glad you bought that one slabbed.

 

pretty dang cool Rotobeast..:kewl:

RickieB

 

Thank you, Gentlemen.


It is roughly 3/4 of the size of a Three Cent Silver.
That is one of the reasons I bought it.
I like small gold pieces, as I am sure many of the originally minted populations have been lost, due to their size.
Also, being slabbed is one of the other reasons I bought it.
There are MANY counterfeits of California Gold Pieces out there.
I am also speculating that these gold pieces will raise a lot in value, as people learn of their low production and rich history.

I found it amusing what the auctioneer stated, when I won the bid.
Of course it was an auctioneer (owner of coin shop, too), but he stated that he thought "it was the buy of the auction".
LOL

Well, I hope it was.

 

I found this on the PCGS web site:

PCGS # Date BG# Lots Found PCGS % PCGS Ave Price PCGS Price

10853 1870 BG-1024 MS 3 1 33% $512 $374

Hope that this helps

 

Because of you I had to look up my Cal fractional $1/4.
Thanks

BG-795 $1/4

Average Price= $815
PCGS = $978!

Nice, I got it last year, in July, raw but with the original info as MS-63 (from the guy who wrote the book) & paid $150.

 

Thank you !
I'm sure mine would probly go for around $250 or so, if I sold it.
I'll hold on to it though.

That sounds pretty nice !
Do you have any pics ?

 

Whoa !

After looking at the auctions on Heritage, I may crack this slab and send in the piece for re-grading.
Compairing it to the others, this should grade a bit higher.
It looked comparible to the high AU's and not far from the low MS's.

 

Hey Rotobeast...

I have seen these fractionals on www.teletrade.com as well.
Pretty cool goin coins..are you going to start a collection of them??

RickieB

 

I'm considering it.
I just have a feeling they will appreciate well.
I also have a fondness for their history.

Now, this is what I've been told about the creation of them, don't know if it is totally true or not but....

There was no currency shipments to California in those days, so everyone paid for goods in gold dust.
In a saloon for instance, people would ask for 3 fingers of whiskey, then the bartender would reach in a gold dust bag and pinch out gold dust with the first 2 fingers and thumb.
Saloons started hiring the biggest guys they could find to pinch more gold dust.
So, people wanted a uniform way to pay for goods and not get ripped off.
Hence, they started striking their own coins.

Hopefully someone will correct me if I am wrong, but it seems like a reasonable story.

 

Great story...where did you read this from?

Earlier post meant to say "pretty cool gold coin"..duh...typing is not so good tonight!
Just finished 18 and shot a 83..
I am estatic over that!!

RickieB

 

I can't remember where I seen/heard the story.
My Grandpa may have told it to me, or I could have seen it on the History channel.

83 ?
Dang, I wish I could shoot that.
The best I ever did was an 81, but I was by myself and I'm sure I gave myself more than a couple mulligans.
I'm usually in the 95-105 range now, but I only play a couple of times per year.

 

I would be interested in learning about the Calif fractionals..if you find a resource for information please post it! That would be cool....

Took me 5 years to break 90!!

RickieB

 

Here is one link.
It confirms the story I relayed.


http://www.austincoins.com/RCU-california-gold.htm

Here's a guy on eBay that has a lot of pieces.
http://stores.ebay.com/Old-West-Gold_W0QQcolZ4QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ0QQftidZ2QQtZkm

Oh, I also plan on looking into the Alaskan gold pieces that were similar in origin.

 

Very cool story rotobeast...
Very cool....

Keep me posted on your progress, it sounds very interesting!!

RickieB

 

Of course you guys KNOW that the Dalai Lama is a heavy hitter!

C. Spackler