BG- 302, 1853 California Gold Rush Circulating Fractional Gold 50C, Liberty Octagonal, "Peacock" Reverse PCGS AU55 R4-

It is with pride and pleasure that we at AUCM offer to the U.S. gold enthusiast an 1853 Fractional Gold 50c, BG-302, Liberty Octagon, "Peacock" reverse, graded PCGS AU55. Struck by Frontier, Dieviercy & Co. of San Francisco. Obverse has the same Coronet Liberty head as BG-301. 13 stars, tip of bust points to first star, while the tip of the coronet points to the seventh star. Mintmark "FD" (for "Frontier, Dieviercy") is found to right of nape of neck. Since this is die state 2, there is an obverse die cud at the 12th star (9 o'clock). 1853 is below the bust. The reverse has a bird clasping an arrow, with rays above and in back of head. (Please see below paragraph for description and analysis of bird design.) Erroneously, the coin above reads CALIFORNIA COLD instead of CALIFORNIA GOLD. Below is 50 CENTS.

It is a misnomer to call this issue's reverse image a "peacock." It was originally given that moniker by numismatist and auctioneer Art Kagin--and it stuck. This motif could be a creative derivative of the 1853 "Eagle with Rays" reverse of the quarter and half dollar. However, the bird on the coin has a crest, which American eagles do not have. Therefore it could be a crested caracara, which was probably a common sight in 1850s San Francisco. The caracara's body is similar to the one found on the coin. The mythological phoenix metaphor is of course a possibility, since San Francisco was destroyed by fire seven times between 1849-1851, but the bird on the coin more closely resembles an eagle or caracara. However, the die sinker may indeed have been striving to create a phoenix--employing an eagle or caracara as a metaphorical phoenix. The San Francisco government adopted the phoenix as its city seal, but that was not officially until after the 1906 earthquake.