LOT Heritage Rare Coin Galleries  /  2006 October Dallas Signature Coin Auction #428  / 

3151

1850-O $20 AU55 NGC. Beginning in 1850 with the advent

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1850-O $20 AU55 NGC. Beginning in 1850 with the advent
<B>1850-O<$20> AU55 NGC.</B></I> Beginning in 1850 with the advent of this denomination, and continuing through 1853, just prior to the first coinage at the new San Francisco Mint, it was the joint responsibility of the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints to handle the influx of new gold that was mined in California. It is interesting to consider just what quantity of gold this entailed, so we will turn to some basic bookkeeping. From 1840 through 1849, all of the Mints converted approximately 285,000 troy ounces of gold into coinage on an annual basis. Then, from 1850 to 1854, the average annual production was just over 2 million troy ounces of gold. Thus, the California gold rush generated approximately 1.7 million troy ounces of gold each year, not counting the unknown quantity that was converted to gold bars or to privately issued gold coinage. This is a pleasing green-gold example with lightly abraded surfaces as usual. Both sides have nearly full luster with reflective fields.
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