BG- 508, 1854 California Gold Rush Circulating Fractional Gold $1, Liberty Octagonal NGC MS62 Prooflike R4+

Here's a great chance to obtain a more reasonably priced--and stunningly attractive--piece in the extensive California Fractional Gold series. It was crafted and struck by the prolific and talented San Francisco firm of Frontier, Deviercy & Co. NGC has graded only 12 examples as Prooflike. There are 4 in MS62PL with 8 finer. PCGS has attributed only 2 of this variety as Prooflike, both of which carry the grade of PCGS MS62PL.

Portsmouth Square in Gold Rush San Francisco, circa 1851. Photo: Wikipedia.

Frontier, Devierey & Co. purchased the jewelry firm of the Joseph Brothers, the acknowledged pioneers of the development and production of California Fractional Gold coinage. In essence, what Frontier, Devierey & Co. and other San Francisco jewelers/minters generated was “emergency coinage.” Fractional Gold researcher Robert H. Lande writes that the Period 1 coins (1852-1856) are “plain, sparce, minimalist, unadorned, and basic.” The pervasive Liberty head design found on over 99 percent of California Fractional Gold was the result of a serious effort on the part of jewelers to imitate the design on the federal government’s then current $1 gold coin. And to their credit, familiarity bred success!