5385

1849 $5 Mormon Five Dollar AU55 NGC. K-2, R.5. Alt 1849[$5] Mormon Five Dollar AU55 NGC.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:750.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1849 $5 Mormon Five Dollar AU55 NGC. K-2, R.5. Alt 1849[$5] Mormon Five Dollar AU55 NGC.
<B>1849<$5> Mormon Five Dollar AU55 NGC.</B></I> K-2, R.5. Although the Mormons struck gold coins for the benefit of their own economic community, many of the pieces were used to purchase goods throughout the United States. In early 1850, William P. Hort, the assayer of the New Orleans Mint, obtained an example of the Mormon twenty dollar gold piece. After careful inspection, he concluded that the coin was only .892 fine instead of .900 fine and weighed 20% less than the specified weight of the United States' regular issue double eagle. As news of this discrepancy spread, merchants throughout the country started to accept Mormon coinage at 10-25% below face value. Eventually, most of the coins were melted. Better struck than often encountered, this example shows some finger definition on the clasped hands. The light olive and tan-gold surfaces are only minutely grainy and not unduly marked. Listed on page 308 of the 2005 <I>Guide Book.</B></I>