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1851[$50 RE] Humbert Fifty Dollar, 887 Thous. MS61 NGC.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1851[$50 RE] Humbert Fifty Dollar, 887 Thous. MS61 NGC.
<B>1851<$50 RE> Humbert Fifty Dollar, 887 Thous. MS61 NGC.</B></I> Reeded Edge. K-6, R.4. An important Mint State example of this large format territorial gold coin. The Assay Office in San Francisco actually did very little in 1851 to help alleviate California's need for a circulating medium. What they did under Humbert's leadership was to convert the raw gold dust, that had previously been used as currency, into these large $50 so-called "slugs." Smaller denominations would follow, but these are the initial emissions from the Assay Office, an official U.S. government office that acted as a <I>de facto</B></I> Mint until the actual Mint opened in 1854. <BR> Many of these "slugs" have numerous rim bumps and nicks due to their massive size, as does this example. Minor rim irregularities that were on the planchet at the time of striking are noted at 1 o'clock on the obverse and at a similar position on the reverse. The target reverse has a vertical blemish above and just to the left of center and a few others of relatively minor consequence. An attractive reddish patina highlights the lustrous green-gold surfaces and the strike displays normal deficiency on the obverse devices. Listed on page 289 of the 2004 <I>Guide Book.</B></I> <BR><BR><B>Important notice:</B> Heritage usually auctions material at the rate of 200-250 lots per hour. On some occasions eBay Live bid software or the Internet may not be able to keep up with the pace of the auction. We recommend placing a realistic absentee bid now as insurance to avoid disappointment. Occasionally the auctioneer may eliminate or reject an eBay Live bid, and the auctioneer may also reopen a lot after the close of the eBay live bidding (usually because we missed an audience bid), and may reject your bid even if it shows you as the winning bidder. By bidding via eBay Live, you agree that Heritage may award the lot to another bidder at its sole discretion under the circumstances described above or any other reasonable circumstances. Since eBay bids are not shown to us until we open the lot on the floor, we treat those bids just like floor bids. In most cases the floor responds before the eBay bid is presented to us, due to Internet lag time, so for consistency we have made it a policy that floor bids are always considered first over tie eBay live bids. Also please note that all Heritage lots purchased through eBay Live carry a 20% Buyer's Premium. Please make sure you read the Terms and Conditions before you bid.