8273

1850 $10 Baldwin Ten Dollar, Vaquero Obverse Desi

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:65,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1850 $10 Baldwin Ten Dollar, Vaquero Obverse Desi
<B>1850<$10> Baldwin Ten Dollar, Vaquero Obverse Design AU50. NCS "Genuine."</B></I> This is not the usually seen restrike, but is a genuine example as noted by NCS. The surfaces exhibit light greenish gold. They have been cleaned, and minor etching or roughness appears around certain of the devices. Despite these challenges, this is an attractive and highly desirable example. This is one of the most famous and popular of all territorial gold coins representing a design that could be considered semi-native to the land at that time. Such a distinctive motif does not appear anywhere else in the territorial gold series. The prolific Albert Kuner prepared the obverse die, and his signature appears at the left end of the base below the horse. The reverse is similar to the federal design with an eagle, shield on breast and wings spread, grasping an olive branch and three arrows. The number originally coined is not known, but today only 15 to 20 examples survive.<BR> Although it is generally believed that these pieces did not circulate due to sub-par gold content, based on a report by James King, a contemporary assay at the Philadelphia Mint showed that the Baldwin tens had $9.96 worth of gold, perhaps one of the better made of California private gold. It is likely the case that the dissimilarity between this and Federal designs limited the actual circulation of these pieces.