Medal - California Gold Discovery Centennial Miner Kneeling
1850 year| Brass | 22.4 g | 42 mm |
| Location | United States |
|---|---|
| Type | Medals › Commemorative medals |
| Year | 1850 |
| Value | 50 Dollars 50 USD = EUR 47 |
| Currency | Dollar (1785-date) |
| Composition | Brass |
| Weight | 22.4 g |
| Diameter | 42 mm |
| Thickness | 0.5 mm |
| Shape | Octagonal (8-sided) |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Updated | 2024-11-12 |
| Numista | N#140479 |
|---|---|
| Rarity index | 95% |
Reverse
Copy of U.S. Assay Office $50 gold piece with eagle and shield
Standing eagle right, wings spread holding a shield left, ribbon in beak, legend surrounding, fineness in cartouche above, date below
Script: Latin
Lettering:
IMITATION OF FAMOUS CALIFORNIA FIFTY DOLLAR GOLD SLUG, USED BY THE PIONEERS
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
000 THOU.
FIFTY DOLLS.
* 1850 *
Edge
Plain
Comment
Octagonal Gold Slugs
The fifty dollar octagonal gold coin—also known as a “slug”—was produced in San Francisco. After the California gold rush began in 1849, it became apparent that a mint should be established on the West Coast to remove the need to ship the gold back to Philadelphia to be minted. Prior to Congress approving the San Francisco mint in 1852, California’s delegates passed a Bill in 1850 establishing the U.S. Assay Office to assay (weigh and test purity of) gold and mint coins in San Francisco. Augustus Humbert was appointed to serve as the U.S. Assayer in San Francisco. He brought dies engraved by Charles C. Wright to produce coins made by Moffat & Company. On the obverse, or front, of the coin is a spread-winged eagle on the U.S. shield resting upon a rock; in its claws are an olive branch and arrows. Above the eagle is a cartouche containing the coin’s degree of fineness.
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/search/object/nmah_1101911
