1849 $5 California Gold Half Eagle - Norris, Gregg & Norris Plain Edge K-2 NGC AU58

NORRIS, GREGG & NORRIS

Benicia City and San Francisco

     There soon came a desperate need for an acceptable medium of exchange within the cities that supported the gold fields.  The value of an ounce of gold dust was often times valued less than half that which an assayed ounce of gold was worth, and the people knew it.  All denominations of coins were extremely scarce and often hoarded by merchants to receive imported goods from bond at the Customs House, since legal tender was the only acceptable medium.  It is no doubt that private individuals would take matters into their own hands less than one year after that first cry of "Gold! Gold! Gold on the American River!" was heard in the streets. 

     On May 31, 1849, the Daily Alta California newspaper made reference to perhaps the first private coinage having been struck by a company called Norris, Gregg, and Norris. The paper disclosed that the example it possessed was struck in the Benicia City area, even though the word SAN FRANCISCO appeared on it reverse.  This company struck two varieties of $5 gold pieces bearing the date 1849: one with a reeded edge and one with a plain edge.  Of these two varieties, there are two types: one has a period after the word ALLOY on the obverse, the other does not. Like so many of the private mint issues that followed, the N.G.N. coins, while of a reasonably full weight, were undervalued.  The legend on the obverse CALIFORNIA GOLD WITHOUT ALLOY was only relatively true.  Assays conducted by Eckfeldt and Dubois in the Philadelphia mint showed that they were manufactured from virgin gold supplied directly from the diggings.  This metal contained a high natural silver content and any additional alloys were not necessary.

     It has been speculated that the company later moved from Benecia City to Stockton just prior to April 6, 1850, where they began to mint a $5 gold piece bearing the date of 1850.  There is only one known example of the 1850 STOCKTON $5 gold piece.  Norris, Gregg and Norris may have discontinued their practice of private minting since the State Assay Office (later to become the U.S. Assay Office of Gold) was established in the same month.

HALF EAGLE

Obverse: CALIFORNIA GOLD above WITHOUT ALLOY below and surrounding design. Eagle with wings spread located centrally with shield before breast and number 5 within shield.  The Eagle grips a laurel branch in the right talon and three arrows in the left.

Reverse: FULL WEIGHT OF above HALF EAGLE below and surrounding design of 22 stars (16 for the STOCKTON issue) arranged in a circle. Within circle appear the initials N.G & N. above and SAN FRANCISCO below.  The date 1849 appears horizontally at the center of the design.