Reply to Thread

Message:: [QUOTE="kaparthy, post: 4651837, member: 57463"]At least start with the online authorities. <a href="https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/category/california-fractional-gold-1852-1882/1659" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/category/california-fractional-gold-1852-1882/1659" rel="nofollow">https://www.pcgs.com/coinfacts/category/california-fractional-gold-1852-1882/1659</a><a href="https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/california-fractional-gold-pscid-84" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/california-fractional-gold-pscid-84" rel="nofollow">https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/california-fractional-gold-pscid-84</a><a href="https://blog.ha.com/2019/12/california-fractional-gold-half-dollar-part-of-gold-rush-history/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://blog.ha.com/2019/12/california-fractional-gold-half-dollar-part-of-gold-rush-history/" rel="nofollow">https://blog.ha.com/2019/12/california-fractional-gold-half-dollar-part-of-gold-rush-history/</a>and of course<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gold_coinage" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gold_coinage" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gold_coinage</a>and even a secondary popular write-up for our hobby community<a href="https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/counterfeit-coins-detection-california-fractional-gold/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/counterfeit-coins-detection-california-fractional-gold/" rel="nofollow">https://coinweek.com/counterfeits/counterfeit-coins-detection-california-fractional-gold/</a> The problem is that all of them look to the same reference, Breen-Gillio.  As a libertarian, Walter Breen was pre-sold on the reality of these coins. He told the story everyone wanted to hear, and which is still repeated today, that these coins circulated in California in the early days of the gold rush, c. 1853.  Walter Breen's original book (1980) was  California Pioneer and Fractional Gold: Historic Gold Rush Small Change 1852-1857 And Supressed Jewelers' Issues 1858-1882. Ronald J. Gillio knows his coins and his markets and believes that he can differentiate the various series. He published work of his own, then took up Breen's. You will notice that the sales all give BG-numbers. Before them, there were these: <ul> <li>Private Gold Coinage of California, 1849-1855 : Its History and Its Issues by Edgar H. Adams, 1913. (The Adams book is what tripped up John J. Ford. Adams listed Agnell as Agrell and Ford took it literally.)</li> <li> California Gold, Quarters-Halves-Dollars: a Descriptive List of Privately Issued, Interesting and Historical Coins of Small Denominations (1932) Edward M. Lee. And updated 1970, 1979 by Kenneth W. Lee</li> <li>California Fractional Gold by David and Susan Doering; Published by The Authors, Santa Monica, CA (1980).  </li> </ul>When I worked at Coin World, I read all of those books, studied the coins, and bought one certified. Then Trends editor Stuart Segan asked me, rhetorically, "Who owns the dies?" According to the Mike Locke Cal Gold website (not https secure) the dies from Antoine Nouizillet-M. Deriberpe-Isadore Routhier 1853-1856 eventually were sold at auction in 1987.[/QUOTE]

Create my FREE Account!

Log in or Sign up

Reply to Thread

Useful Searches