5747

1850 $5 Baldwin Five Dollar XF45 PCGS. K-2, R.5. All B

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1850 $5 Baldwin Five Dollar XF45 PCGS. K-2, R.5. All B
<B>1850<$5> Baldwin Five Dollar XF45 PCGS.</B></I> K-2, R.5. All Baldwin & Co. private gold coins are elusive today. Donald Kagin recorded four different varieties (in addition to a unique ingot), with a total population of about 100 coins. The Baldwin five dollar piece is easily the most available of these four varieties, encompassing approximately half of the total population.<BR> The firm of Baldwin & Co., operated by George Baldwin, acquired the coining equipment of F.D. Kohler in March 1850, and commenced their own coinage operation a short time later. A substantial mintage of gold coins took place at the offices of George Baldwin, including $590,000 in coin during the first quarter of 1851, alone. Few of these pieces remain due to publication of "The Gold Swindle" by James King of William, a contemporary rival of Baldwin and other firms that were targeted. King was responsible for assays of various gold coins including the Baldwin pieces, and published the results of these assays, stating the pieces tested did not hold up to standard, and that they should not be accepted in transactions. As a result, the Baldwin coinage did not circulate widely, and nearly all was eventually melted with the gold recoined at the U.S. Assay Office or, later, the San Francisco Mint.<BR> This example, which has probably been cleaned a long time ago, retains the rich greenish-gold color that is typical of most California gold coinage. The surfaces are moderately abraded, suggesting that this particular example did spend considerable time in circulation. The reverse has a small rim break over M of SMV. Listed on page 355 of the 2007 <I>Guide Book.</B></I><BR><I>From The Carolina Gold Collection, Part Four.</B></I>