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Name:        Mark
Email Address:   mpaxton@aol.com
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Question:        What is the 8-sided 1849 "California Gold" Coin and what is its history?

The Gold rush period in California (1849-1857) found the inhabitants without sufficient coins for commerce.  All that gold and no coins to spend.  Ingenuity and great need was the impetus for the creation of the many privately issued gold coins and ingots.

The fractional gold coins of 25 cents, half-dollar and dollar were first minted in 1852.  The designs were similar to other larger denomination territorial pieces in that the obverse shows a representation of Liberty facing left, sometimes wearing a crown or Indian headdress.  Stars are around the bust but not always the traditional 13.  The date is below the bust, although on some pieces, it may appear on the reverse. The reverse design shows a wreath, the legend around CALIFORNIA GOLD and the denomination expressed as CENTS, DOL. DOLL. or DOLLAR.  There are no figures of animals on California Gold.

After 1856 the coins were no longer important for coinage and they became souvenirs of this historic period. Though private coinage was outlawed by The United States Congress in the Act of 1864, California fractional coinage continued to be minted until 1882.  Most pieces will show dates between 1852-1882.  Many of these coins show the maker's initials: D, DN, N, NR, L, H, G, GG, FD, or DERI.

In the years after 1882, tokens with a similar design were manufactured for the jewelry trade.  Pieces dated 1849 are in this category. These tokens are far less valuable than the originals. (value range about $15 or so)

There are also modern concoctions with animals and no denominations mostly struck in gold plated brass.  These have no value.

Click here for more information about California Gold.

Comments:        your site is a rare one which actually personally answers collectors' questions. I am amazed and appreciative.
Name:        kunaal
Email Address:   kb557@hotmail.com
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Question:        I have a 20 franc coin from Maroc dated 1371. can you please tell me its value today. thanks Coin DOC!

Not every society on the planet Earth uses the Gregorian Christian Calendar. Morocco is a Moslem country and prefers to use the Moslem Calendar that dates from the time of Mohammed. The Moslem year 1371 translates as the Gregorian calendar year of 1951.

So, you have a 1371 (1951) Morocco 20 francs.  It is a one year issue, was struck in an alloy of aluminum-bronze and is valued in the coin market in average circulated condition at about US 10 cents. Note that there is also an essai of this coin (like a proof) that comes packaged for collectors.  Value range $25-$35.

There were seven sets of Canada 1976 Olympic coins. They were minted in uncirculated and proof versions.  There are two C$5 and two C$10 coins in each set.  They are dated from 1973 -1976.  So far their performance in the market has been rather disappointing especially since The Canada Mint did such a wonderful job in creating such a beautiful set of coins.

Current market value is related to the silver content of the coins:
$5 = .7227 troy ounce of silver
$10 = 1.4454 troy ounces of silver.

You have a modern manufactured private issue medal that commemorates the irregular shaped coinage of Spain that modern collectors call "cobs".

The original coins were minted in Mints in Spain and in Mints all over "El Peru", what we call Latin America, from 1535 - to c. 1760 .  The shape of the coin and its nick name "cob" comes from the method of manufacture (cabo de barra or end of a bar). A piece of hot gold or silver was cut from the end of an ingot, weighed and struck by hand between a set of dies.  After the coin cooled, the coin was then weighed again and adjusted as necessary.

The gold coins were minted in gold in 1/2, 1, 2, 4, and 8 escudos The silver in 1/2, 1, 2, 4, 8 reales.  For hundreds of years the Spanish 8 reales and 8 escudos were the world standard for money.  The United States monetary system was based on this standard (8 reales=US$1) and in fact these Spanish coins were legal tender in the U.S. until 1858.

By the 2nd third of the 18th century, the cob style of coinage gave way to the technological improvement of "milled" coinage.  Round coinage with a security edge foiled the practice of clipping small pieces from coins, melting the accumulation and then selling the stolen silver or gold.

There is another version of this medal.  See the Coin Doc Archive #4 and search for "Barre" (press Ctrl+F to search the page) to see a similar medal.

Please click to read about Bust Half Dollars.  See the Image Gallery for photos.

The market value of your item is all in the fact that it was used as police badge. It is not valued as a coin.  This type of item appeals to collectors of police badges, love tokens and coin boxes and other exonumia.  Depending on the condition, the shape of the badge and the inscription, the approximate value range is from $100 - $500. 'Sounds like a neat item!

You have a replica of a Cincinnati Mining & Trading Co. 1849 $10 gold coin cast in base metal (replicas often have the word TRACING instead of Trading).

This company was one of the many that were established to create needed currency during the "gold rush" period in California (1849-1857). These issues became defunct after the establishment of the U.S. Assay office in 1852.

Only two denominations were made by the Cincinnati Mining & Trading Co.  A 1849 $5 gold coin which only one piece is known to have survived and an 1849 $10 gold coin which is extremely rare (sale records to $200,000). No $20 pieces were ever made.

Neither one of your coins are United States issues. There are no "1851 Indian Head Silver Dollars" though there are 1939 and 1952 Dominican Republic pesos that has been altered to make it seem as if it is a U.S. coin.  They sometimes appear to have the date 1951 as well. (see coinsite archive #1a for a similar answer).

Also, there are no real people on any 19th century regular issue United States coin.  All busts and head are of an allegorical Liberty.  The first regular issue coin to show an actual person is the Lincoln cent which was issued in 1909 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his birth.  Note that 1856 U.S. dollars have a "Seated Liberty" design, not a bust.  The reverse shows an eagle with open wings.

Between 1790 and about 1815, the British government failed to mint a sufficient number of coins for commerce. The slack was taken up by private issuers, especially for low value but vital coins such as the farthing, 1/2 penny and penny.

A whole body of tokens became familiar in England during this period.  As well as money, these tokens often were used as a vehicle for advertising or political messages. There was no official design or constraints.  Monetary authorities turned a blind eye to this practice although it was essentially counterfeiting. The government was in dire straits and was secretly grateful that this bit of ingenuity was keeping the economy afloat.

The majority of these interesting pieces were cataloged by James Condor in his book first published in 1798.  Condor organized and cataloged all the emergency tokens known at that time.  Collecting these tokens became a popular pursuit and they are still enthusiastically collected today.  They are affectionately called "Condor Tokens" after the author of the first catalog.

Your token was minted in Essex England, shows a lion standing on a line, his head facing front and below (in exergue), ONE PENNY 1812.  ROLLING HILLS AT WALTHAMSTOW is around.  The reverse shows BRITISH COPPER COMPANY in a wreath with SMELTING WORKS AT LANDORE around.

Value depends on condition. Average Circulated pieces US$15 -$25. Uncirculated examples: US$90-$150.

This "collection" is a promotional issue by a private company.  Usually such contrived issues are essentially valued at bullion value though their issue price is often exorbitant. (see the metals page for current silver bullion prices.)

That is not to say that someone might not find these medals interesting and attractive and pay a premium over the metal content. There just isn't any dealers buying and selling such sets at a premium and therefore no market for them has been established.

You have a silver 10 centavo from the Commonwealth of The Philippines.  From 1898 - 1946 the Philippines were under the sovereignty of the United States. That means it was part of the U.S. During this period, except during the Japanese Occupation in World War II, the United States minted Philippine coins.  The 1944 10 centavo was minted at the Denver Mint and has a "D" mint mark. Value Range in average circulated condition: 50 cents -75 cents.

For more information about Philippines please click here.

You have a mint set token.  Mint sets are sold by the Treasury each year. There are two packages in each mint set. One the current year's Philadelphia issues and a second with the Denver Mint issues.  Each package of coins is sealed in flexible plastic film and contains, as well as the coins, either a Philadelphia or Denver mint token. The tokens are struck on cent blanks and often show up in circulation after the sets have been broken up into collections.  They have no specific value.

Errors exist where a coin was struck through cloth, such as a die cleaning rag and there are lamination errors where the clad strip didn't adhere to the copper core. Based on your description, it sounds likely that the coin is not a mint error but has been filed.  If true, this would not be a mint error but something done to the coin after it left the Mint.  You can check this out by simply weighing the coin. A genuine clad planchet weighs 2.27 grams.  A filed coin would weigh less.

Note: there is no silver in clad dimes (1965 - ).  The flans are manufactured with a outer layer of copper-nickel bonded to an inner core of pure copper.

See the CoinSite's What's it worth? menu for prices. Note that old coins are not necessarily valuable. Many are bought and sold close to their metal value.  Condition and rarity are very important.  Use the above feature as a general guide.  If after viewing the CoinSite prices, you believe you have specific items that you believe are valuable contact the American Numismatic Association to find a numismatist in your area that you may hire to give you a written appraisal (see the CoinSite Links page for the ANA).  The appraisal acts as a guide.  You should be able to realize within 10% of the appraised price for your material.

You have an 1804 United States copper half cent. This was the smallest denomination struck in the U.S.  Half cents were minted from 1793 -1857. Collectors like to collect them by type, that is, design changes  over time. It is an interesting pursuit to try to get one of each basic type.  To see a type listing, including prices, see the What's it Worth? feature.