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1853 Assay Office Twenty Dollar, 900 Thous.


Image Information

Type Coin
Title 1853 Assay Office Twenty Dollar, 900 Thous.
Date 1853
Grade MS62
Service NGC
Service Catalog # 10013
Denomination $20
Description

1853 $20 Assay Office Twenty Dollar, 900 Thous. MS62 NGC. CAC. K-18, R.2. The United States Assay Office in San Francisco was authorized in September 1850, in response to growing demand in the region for a federal branch mint. The Assay Office was a temporary institution put in place until Congress could get the votes necessary to establish the San Francisco Mint. In 1853, under contract with the private California firm Curtis, Perry & Ward, the Assay Office in San Francisco produced approximately 2.5 million twenty-dollar gold pieces. This is a collectible territorial issue today as much of the mintage was presumably recoined at the San Francisco Mint in the following years. The present example is boldly struck and Uncirculated, showing minimal surface chatter and frosty yellow-gold mint luster. Ex: Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society.

Heritage Newman IX, November 2017, lot 15114, realized $15600. Images and description courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

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Image Collection Eric P. Newman Collection, Part IX
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