This was in the cedar chest at home as long as I can remember and I am 66. Is it real, or not? I would presume (without testing) that it is gold as it still has its' luster even though it has never really been protected from the air. I would think that brass would oxidize severely by now. I do know that some of the Calif Gold was real gold, even if the coin was not legal tender. So, what is it, and what is it worth (even though it is not for sale)?
In a nutshell it is a modern fake. You can probably identify it here if you wish - http://www.calgoldcoin.com/bears.htm
Definitely a fake (any California gold with a bear on it is a fake), but even some of the fakes contained gold, so I certainly wouldn't just throw it away or destroy it without checking further.
I'm thinking it's this one: 1860 Indian #1, obverse of 1860 Indian Bear2 #1, reverse of 1855 Liberty Bear 3 #1 on this page: http://www.calgoldcoin.com/bear3.htm It looks like it might be gold so it does have value but not high. They go for around $25 to $50 on the common ones and a little higher on the not so common ones, that is, if they are gold. Also, you should weigh it and it should weigh around 0.1 grams (in that range somewhere). Ribbit
Thanks everyone.... Appreciate the input. I suspected that it was 'counterfeit' coinage but don't want to damage it either (including testing for gold content). I think we will put it away for another quarter century.... Let my kids fight over it...
Hello everyone, I've brought this thread back to life as I feel the title best represents my query – although I'm not certain that mine contain any gold at all... The world of "California gold tokens" seems to be a virtual jungle and I've had no real success in finding info online on my own. Even Mike Locke's informative website has proven ultimately unhelpful... So hopefully a more knowledgeable member of this forum will be able to assist... I would very much like to identify the following two tokens, and hopefully compare them to already catalogued items... The first I've chosen to simply call an "Eureka token": Eureka token obverse: Indian head, eight stars Eureka token reverse: EUR EKA 1849, “Minerva”, 9 stars The second, I've chosen to call a "Bear token" [And yes I've read that "bear" tokens are generally "worthless"]: Bear token obverse: Indian head, ten stars; a star not clear of first feather Bear token reverse: 1849, CALIFORNIA GOLD; with final A over wreath opening, “Bear” Any information or suggestions on further research would be much appreciated. The bezels are all fastened with a tiny screw, so hopefully not much damage has happened to the edges of the "coins" [In the final photo a tiny section of "lining" is seen protruding up from between the bezel and coin.]... Cheers!
