I have always been very interested in the Klondike Gold Rush and am now looking for one or 2 gold coins that would have been made from gold from the Klondike gold rush. Does anyone here have any idea of any specific coin or date range that would have gold from this event in it? I have an idea with 2 coins in mind but I just would like to get a confirmation before I buy. Thank you in advance!
I was told the Liberty Head 20 Dollar gold piece of the year 1896 or 1897 San Francisco was made of Klondike gold. These coins are slightly more yellow....they miss the typical reddish hue.
The 1965 catalog, "Alaska's Coinage Through the Years," by Gould, Bressett, and Dethridge, lists 71 gold tokens and souvenir coins, in the catalog #108 to #179. all from 1862 to 1911, putting most squarely in the Klondike time period. You might find a copy on eBay, or at www.bookfinder.com -- Whitman published the book, and many experts contributed information. ========== Just looked, there are 7 copies on Bookfinder, ranging from $11 to $14, plus postage. If you buy there, pay close attention to postage, some sellers charge outrageous amounts.
Ive looked at some of those coins but the ones that fall in the range of the Klondike years are souveneir coins and were usually not minted from actual klondike gold. I want something made with gold that was with complete certainty from a mix that included or was primarily klondike gold.
I bought a copy anyways, was only like 8 bucks on ebay, im sure theres alot of good information in there
So I had not heard this before, and wanted to test it. So I pulled up 5-6 random examples of 1896, 1897 and 1860 as a control. I think you are right. Where did you hear/learn this? I would like to explore that source for other little trinkets of info.
Mr. Q. David Bowers wrote it in his book about the 20 $ gold series. It's one of the red book series.....
So to be sure I read it again. The 1897 S is definitely the so called ""Klondike Double Eagle"". The gold deposits at the SF mint were strongly augmented by metal from the Klondike.
Cool thanks for the info. That was something I didn't know. I believe the British gold sovereigns made at the Ottawa mint in 1911 and also the 1912 Canada gold pieces were made from klondike gold. Those were the other 2 I knew of. But I think the 1897-s would have more of the gold from the Klondike rush portion more like what is in Londons books.
I wonder why it is only referenced that the $20 is made from Klondike gold. Why wouldnt the other 1897-S Gold coins also be made from the same gold?
Kind of like the shell-case Lincolns of 1944-1946. If the mints had been money-hungry then, they could have segregated cartridges by area of recovery, and added F, G, I, P, etc., mintmarks, for France, Germany, Italy, Philippines, etc.
It seems difficult to definitively determine if any coin was exclusively made of klondike gold as in the 1890's gold was being shipped south from the Juneau gold district which included a number of gold mines like Treadwell, Gasteneau, Alaska- Juneau and other smaller mines around the area. The Yukon gold was shipped on the same vessels as the Alaska gold then refined and shipped to the S.F mint. Most certainly coins from the years 1896 and some years after were made at least partially from the Klondike source.
Was the mint utilizing the "turn in YOUR gold/silver to be minted into specifically YOUR gold/silver coins" policy at that time? I doubt it, I know this was a policy from early on in mint history, and am almost positive it had been abolished by this period, but possible I suppose, if so, specific coins would have been PURE klondike gold sourced.
