LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 May/June Long Beach, CA Sig. US Coin #438  / 

2829

1834 $5 C. Bechtler Five Dollar, Plain Edge MS61 NGC.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1834 $5 C. Bechtler Five Dollar, Plain Edge MS61 NGC.
<B>1834 $5 C. Bechtler Five Dollar, Plain Edge MS61 NGC.</B></I> K-17, R.5. 20 is close to CARATS and the date of the enabling legislation, August 1, 1834, is imprinted on the obverse of this first-rate Territorial gold piece. Apparently the Bechtlers wisely wished to avoid running afoul of the U.S. government, and when the weight of federal gold coins was reduced, the Bechtlers began issuing coinage with the new, reduced standard gold content. (Of course, to do otherwise would have been to risk the inexorable consequences of Gresham's Law, that good money drives out bad. Any coins with an excess of gold would have been hoarded in preference to other coins with lower gold content.)<BR> This piece is in phenomenal condition for a Territorial gold piece, as it shows almost none of the usual abrasions on both sides, and the surfaces are far finer than usually seen. Perhaps this piece was a specimen or presentation piece of some kind? Only the most trivial small contact marks on the reverse preclude an even finer grade, but as it stands this canary-yellow piece is superlative in its appeal. Among the top specimens at either service, and well within the Condition Census. Census: 2 in 61, 3 finer (4/07).<BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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