7940

1860 $5 Clark, Gruber & Co. Five Dollar AU50 PCGS

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:2,600.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1860 $5 Clark, Gruber & Co. Five Dollar AU50 PCGS
<B>1860<$5> Clark, Gruber & Co. Five Dollar AU50 PCGS.</B></I> Kagin-2, Breen 7940, R.4. Even though considerable gold was still being mined in California by 1860, attention of the gold bugs and miners had turned to Colorado by this time. The earliest gold discoveries dated to 1858 in the area of Denver, which itself was founded a short time later. Denver City, as it was known at the time, was founded in November 1858. At the time these first Clark, Gruber pieces were coined, the area was named Territory of Jefferson, a year later being renamed Colorado. The Clark, Gruber & Co. firm was founded by Kansas city bankers Austin M. Clark, Milton Edward Clark, and Emanuel H. Gruber. After acquiring land in Denver City, the firm erected a two-story brick building at (present-day) 16th and Market Streets, about one mile from the current site of the Denver Mint.<BR> The design resembles that of the Federal half eagles, with a Liberty Head on the obverse, dated 1860 below, and surrounded by 13 stars along the border. The headband reads CLARK & CO., with Gruber's name left off due to limited space. The reverse has an eagle with its wings spread in the Federal style, three arrows and an olive branch in its claws. The legend reads PIKES PEAK GOLD DENVER, with the denomination FIVE D. below. Exact mintages of the different denominations is not known, although Walter Breen estimated 6,920 examples of the Five Dollar denomination. The dies were created and engraved by the prestigious Philadelphia firm, Bailey, Banks, and Biddle.<BR> This example was undoubtedly struck later in the production cycle, with several thin die cracks, especially on the obverse. Even though both sides of this coin have the typical weakness found on nearly every example of this issue, the present specimen has excellent eye appeal with its bright green color. The fields are satiny and lustrous with a hint of prooflike reflectivity. The surfaces have a few planchet flakes and minor abrasions. Listed on page 309 of the 2005 <I>Guide Book.</B></I><BR><I>From The Great Western Collection of Territorial Gold.</B></I>