BG- 430 G50C 1853 California Fractional, Liberty Round PCGS MS64 R3

1853 Gold 50C Liberty Head Round, Rarity-3.

• Period One - circulating issues between 1852 and 1856.
• Redbook Type: Value in Wreath, Date Below / CALIFORNIA GOLD Around Wreath
• RedBook Collectors Sequence: RB-046
• Made by Antoine Louis Nouizillet.

Obverse: 13 stars; 1st star opposite the lower part of the throat; point of diadem almost touches the 5th star;

rim crumbling at bottom.

Reverse: HALF DOL. CALIFORNIA GOLD outside of wreath; 1853 inside. Five pairs of berries on each branch. Lacks rim break above F, therefore struck before BG-429.

EML 11; Burnie 20; Lee 7C; D 326B.

Historical Note: Three examples were recovered by divers from the S.S. Winfield Scott shipwreck. The S.S. Winfield Scott was operated by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company to carry passengers and cargo between San Francisco and Panama.  On December 1, 1853, she left San Francisco bound for Panama with about 400 passengers and $884,861.50 in treasure.  Two days out she was caught in a storm and ran aground 30 miles west of Santa Barbara.  The passengers and most of the treasure were rescued.  What remained were mainly items of small value abandoned by the passengers in their haste to evacuate the sinking ship.