BG- 227, 1855 California Gold Rush Circulating Fractional Gold 25C, Liberty Round NGC MS64 R6

Rarity-6. Gold 25C Liberty Head Round. Period One - circulating issues between 1852 and 1856. Redbook Type: Small Liberty Head / Value & Date in Wreath. Made by Antoine Louis Nouizillet.

There have been a total of 25 graded by NGC. There are 2 in MS64, with 2 finer. PCGS has graded 91 examples of the BG-227 variety. Four of those carry the grade of MS64, with 2 finer.

Gold miners during the California Gold Rush. This coin was crafted with gold from the Gold Rush. Photo: Wikipedia.

This example was designed and struck by Antoine Louis Nouizillet, a San Francisco jeweler and a leading producer of California Fractional Gold from 1852-1858. The obverse has the obligatory Liberty design that is derivative of the federally issued gold coins of the 1850s. Lady Liberty is surrounded by ten stars. The reverse presents an open wreath with berries, within which is found "1/4 DOLLAR 1855." Overall this piece has a very attractive look.

Don Kagin, the author of Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States (1981), explains how such coins were produced:

Most of the fractional coins were made by the hammer method .... This was a process of striking where the bottom die was placed on a block, a coin blank was laid upon it, and the top die upon the blank; this top die was then struck by a sledgehammer. Blows of varying intensity would cause potions of one side or edge to be more weakly struck than another.