1860 $5 Mormon MS(PCGS#10268)

December 2020 U.S. Coins Auction

拍卖行

Stack's Bowers

批号

1451

等级

MS61

价格

1,101,102

详细说明

Final Year 1860 Mormon $5 Gold Exceedingly Rare Mint State Preservation 1860 Mormon $5. K-6. Rarity-5+. MS-61 (PCGS). CAC. OGH. Here is an absolute and condition rarity par excellence that caps off the complete set of Mormon gold coinage from the Larry H. Miller cabinet. This is a phenomenal Mormon gold coin of any denomination or date, with both sides retaining full mint luster in a lively satin finish. The fields are subtly semi-reflective and highly attractive. Fully struck for the issue with beautiful vivid medium gold patina, this is a Condition Census example of the 1860 Mormon $5 and one of the finest that we have ever had the privilege of bringing to auction. By 1860 the Mormon pioneers of Utah were no strangers to coining gold, having run a small minting operation in Salt Lake City in 1849 and 1850 where $5, $10, and $20 pieces were struck from gold dust sent back from California. The coins were produced using equipment that could not adequately assay and refine the gold. Unfortunately, the mint masters failed to adjust the weights upward to compensate for these irregularities. As a consequence, when Jacob Eckfeldt and William DuBois at the Philadelphia Mint performed their assays of Mormon gold in 1850, they found that "the weights are more irregular, and the values very deficient." The result, as related by Don Kagin in his 1981 reference on private and territorial gold coins, was the appearance of "many newspaper accounts vilifying the Mormon coins and labeling them as 'spurious,' 'debased,' and 'vile falsehoods.'" The coins' reputation was severely affected and they would only be accepted in commerce at a steep discount. By late 1850, the mint had ceased operations after striking $70,000 face value in gold coin. In 1860, however, another Western gold rush was on, this time in Colorado, giving the Mormons one final chance at coinage. Large quantities of the precious metal had been found, bringing gold dust and nuggets to Utah Territory. Led by Brigham Young, the minting operation reopened, but with an entirely different design. The obverse depicts a lion in repose in a field of grass with the legend HOLINESS TO THE LORD written using the new Desert alphabet and the date 1860. The reverse depicts a spread-wing eagle with the Mormon beehive on its chest, the legend DESERET ASSAY OFFICE PURE GOLD around the border and the denomination 5. D. below. Unlike the earlier Mormon gold pieces, the 1860 $5 coins were struck from Colorado gold of considerably higher purity -- said to be .917 fine and alloyed with silver. While they were successful within the Mormon community and accepted at face value, the reputation of the 1849- and 1850-dated coins could not be overcome and the 1860 pieces were once again accepted only at a steep discount outside the Great Salt Lake Valley, restricting the coins' usefulness in commerce. Walter Breen in his 1988 Encyclopediareported that the 1860 Mormon $5 gold coins were struck in several intermittent batches beginning in July 1859 and lasting through 1861. Don Kagin, however, quotes from "the notes of Mormon mining engineer and historian Colonel Joseph M. Lock: 'From February 28, 1861, to March 9, 1861, [J.M.] Barlow coined from these dies 472 five-dollar pieces.'" The two authors also disagree on exactly who made the dies, with Kagin crediting Barlow and Breen reporting that some numismatists have attributed them to Albert Kuner. Both agree, however, that the coins were struck in Barlow's jewelry shop, which served as the "Desert Assay Office." Regardless of the exact striking period for the 1860 Mormon $5, the coins were eventually made non-current in March 1862, thus ending the last Mormon experiment in private gold coinage. As with their earlier-dated counterparts, the vast majority of 1860 Mormon $5s ended up in the melting pot after only a brief stint in circulation. Survivors are challenging to locate in all circulated grades, especially when problem free and attractive. In Mint State this issue is a formidable condition rarity. The Larry H. Miller example is a particularly significant example and will attract a great deal of attention when it crosses the auction block. Provenance: From the Larry H. Miller Collection. PCGS Population: 4; 2 finer (both MS-62). CAC Population: 1; 0. PCGS# 10268. NGC ID: 2BCG. Click here for certification details from PCGS. Click here to see Coins in Motion. [“Coins]