BG- 101, 1853 California Gold Rush Circulating Fractional Gold 25C, Liberty Octagonal NGC MS64 R5-

It is with great pride that we at AUCM offer an artifact from the California Gold Rush: an 1853 Fractional Gold 25c, BG-101, Liberty Octagon, graded NGC MS64. Minted by Joseph Brothers, San Francisco. Fred Holabird, an expert in gold and mining, writes of the wreckage of the SS Winfield Scott in 1853. He tells us that in 1969, "it was reported that divers found and recorded...California Fractional pieces....Eventually, many U.S. gold coins, private or territorial California gold coins, and fractional gold pieces were found..." That provides strong evidence that California Fractional Gold circulated along with other private and territorial issues. Such a golden relic of the California Gold Rush would be perfect for the Fractional Gold enthusiast.

The Joseph Brothers emerged in numismatic history as pioneers of California Fractional Gold. Dr. Robert Chandler tells us, "The pioneers of 50 and 25-cent Fractionals, Lionel B. [and Nathan] and Josephus B. Joseph came from an eighteenth-century family of noted Liverpool silversmith, and had practiced that trade there until smitten by Gold Fever. Showing their versatility, in 1850 San Francisco they opened Joseph Brothers, jewelers." Robert H. Lande, specialist on California Fractional Gold, writes that these Period 1 coins (1852-1856) are "plain, sparse, minimalist, unadorned, and basic." There was a serious effort on the part of the jewelers to mimic the federal government's then current $1 gold coin. Thus over 99 percent of the Period 1 California Fractional Gold coins feature the iconic Liberty head motif. Lande writes, "...the resemblance between the period's gold U.S. $1.00 pieces and many of the California gold...pieces is uncanny..." These diminutive gold coins fit the bill of meeting the shortage of small change. Aesthetics are not a concern when producing emergency coinage. Lande writes, "Once some had been accepted as money, it would have been advantageous for minters to strike pieces that were similar to the previously issued and accepted pieces."