The San Francisco Mint began coinage operations in 1854, occupying the same building that previously housed the U.S. Assay Office of Gold, which produced the iconic $50 octagonal “slugs” of the Gold Rush period. Coinage during the first several months though was stunted due to a lack of parting acids needed for ore refinement. The…
Atypically Original Looking The first half dollars coined at Philadelphia appeared late in 1794, with a large production the following year, continuing the original Flowing Hair design. Gilbert Stuart’s Draped Bust concept appeared on half dollars in 1796 and 1797, featuring a Small Eagle reverse, and those coins are quite rare. After a brief intermission,…
Way Cool While the origin and purpose of the 1776 Continental dollar has long been an intriguing topic of discussion among numismatists and researchers, Eric P. Newman believed that these coins were American-made. Further, the fact that the Continental Currency paper $1 notes were eliminated from the six issues from July 22, 1776, through September…
Lustrous CC $10 Rarity Annual gold eagle coinage at the Carson City Mint breached the five-figure barrier (and barely) only four times prior to the 1885 to 1889 hiatus during which the mint was shut down. Double eagles dominated large denomination gold production from the Comstock Lode-fed branch mint during this period. In 1876, only…
Four (Rare Ones) Of A Kind The effects of the Panic of 1893 included the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, ending the massive mandated coinage of Morgan dollars the U.S. Mint was required to produce every year. Morgan dollar mintages were drastically reduced at all U.S. Mints in 1893, and the San Francisco…
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