10470

1851 $5 Shultz & Co. Five Dollar AU Details, Envi

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:18,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1851 $5 Shultz & Co. Five Dollar AU Details, Envi
<B>1851<$5> Shultz & Co. Five Dollar AU Details, Environmental Damage, NCS.</B></I> Kagin-1, High R.6. The correct spelling was apparently Schultz, however, Shultz is often used. The coins themselves had SHULTS on the headband. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time we have handled an example of this rare California gold issue, in any grade whatsoever. The rarity of this issue is due in part to their high gold content, which created extensive melting, much the same reason that pre-1834 United States half eagles are so rare today. Principals of the firm were Judge G.W. Schultz and William Thompson Garrett, and they originally operated a foundry within the establishment of coiners Baldwin and Company. Judge Schultz, of whom little is known, later aligned his firm with the banking business of Burgoyne & Co. and Argenti & Co. so that he may enter the coining trade. Donald Kagin mentioned that a single ingot is known with the names of both Argenti & Co. and Shults & Co. on opposite faces.<BR> Although there have been discussions of both $5 and $10 pieces, only the five-dollar gold coins are known today. The number of surviving examples is not specifically known, but it is certainly extremely small. The generally accepted range is 10 to 12 pieces in all grades. The few known examples are known with or without a heavy reverse rim break from the right wing tip to the tops of GOL. Very few of these have been offered for sale at public auction. The most recent offering that we are aware of is an example in Pacific Coast's June 1987 sale.<BR> This is a sharply defined greenish-gold example with moderate "salt-water" surfaces showing porosity and abrasions, but little or no actual wear. This is a splendid representative, with its design closely following that of the Federal half eagles. Listed on page 303 of the 2005 <I>Guide Book.</B></I> <BR><I>From The Great Western Collection of Territorial Gold.</B></I>