LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #444  / 

2159

1849 $5 Norris, Gregg, & Norris Five Dollar,P.E.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:12,500.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1849 $5 Norris, Gregg, & Norris Five Dollar,P.E.
<B>1849 $5 Norris, Gregg, & Norris Five Dollar, P.E. AU55 PCGS.</B></I> K-2, R.5. This rare variety has the period after ALLOY, appearing as two periods (with the nearby dot between ALLOY and GOLD). In fact, according to the Kagin gold reference, this is the rarest five dollar after the R.6 reeded edge, No Period variety. This company is acknowledged to be the first minter of private gold coins in Gold Rush California, with the first issues appearing in May 1849. On May 31, 1849, the first known reference to private coinage appeared in a California newspaper, as the <I>Alta California</B></I> (translated "Upper California," in contrast to Baja California) commented:<BR><BR> <I>We have in our possession a Five Dollar gold coin, struck at Benicia City, although the imprint is San Francisco. In general appearance it resembles the United States coin of the same value, but it bears the private stamp of "Norris, Gregg, & Norris", and is in other particulars widely different.<BR></B></I><BR> This high-grade piece is significant both as the first California private coinage, and as one of the least-common varieties. Much mint luster clings to each side of this pretty orange-gold piece (made "WITHOUT ALLOY"), and only light abrasions on each side attest to its brief spate in circulation. Listed on page 351 of the 2008 <I>Guide Book. </B></I><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
Sign In to Bookmark Lot