1853 California Gold Rush Circulating Fractional Gold 25C, BG-215 Liberty Round NGC MS63 R7- Ex. Jay Roe

It is with great pleasure that we offer to the collecting community a delicate relic from the Gold Rush: an 1853 Fractional Gold 25c, BG-215, Liberty Round, graded NGC MS63. Struck by Frontier, Dieviercy & Co. of San Francisco. Obverse features largest Liberty head with 12 stars, with the 2nd star directly in front of chin, and the 8th star above the hair bun. Plus the 11th star touches lowest curl at the base of the neck. Same as BG-214. Reverse had 1-4 DOLLAR 1853 in wreath. The date 1853 is in an arc. 6 berries on left branch and 10 on the right. The bow is in the shape of a heart. The 8 in the date touches the bow. Die state 2 has 5 berries on left and 7 on right. Imagine owning such a precious treasure!

The Joseph Brothers emerged in numismatic history as pioneers of California Fractional Gold. Their Fractional Gold coin business was taken over by Frontier, Devierey & Co. What they and the other jewelers in San Francisco created was in essence "emergency coinage." 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. To that end, 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. Why did such coins carry similar designs? 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."