1852 U.S. $50 Gold - Assay Office .900 Slug - NGC AU Details (Repaired)
- Grading Service: Numismatic Guaranty Corporation - NGC
- Grade: About Uncirculated Details - AU Details (Repaired)
- Certification: 5870632-001
- Country: United States
- Type: Non-Circulating Coin
- Years: 1852
- Mint: United States Assay Office - San Francisco
- Denomination: 50 USD
- Currency: United States Dollar (1785-Date)
- Composition: .900 Gold
- Weight: 74.64g
- Obverse: Features an Eagle with wings spread, ribbon and shield, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and '900 THOUS' on ribbon above, FIFTY DOLLS below, all within inner circle, outer legend, UNITED STATES ASSAY OFFICE OF GOLD SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA 1852
- Reverse: Machine made criss-cross of circular lines
- Reference: K-14
- Approximately 100 known!
Augustus Humbert was a New york watchcase maker, appointed United States assayer. His name and government stamp were placed on ingots of gold issued by Moffat & Co. The assay office was a provisional government mint; a temporary expedient to accommodate the Californians until the establishment of a permanent branch mint.
The Humbert-U.S. Assay Office were struck under the auspices of Moffat &Co, and its successor, The United States Assay Office of Gold. The iconic and popular octagonal shape of these coins is tangible evidence of a sensational time in our nation's history, the California Gold Rush era. California Territorial Gold has had renowned popularity for decades; this $50 gold piece is among the most desirable, so much so that the 1915-S were issued in both a round and octagonal design; the octagonal paying tribute to the Humbert-Assay $50 gold.
The fifty dollar gold piece was accepted by most banks and merchants as legal tender on a par with standard U.S. gold coins. In the early gold rush days, these pieces were scarcely considered coins, but rather bullion; a known quantity of gold of a specific purity and weight, therefore receiving a known value; assayed by the U.S. government official in charge of that function, Augustus Humbert. The 1851-52 were cumbersome pieces that were largely despised. They had a necessity for the payment of Customs duties, but were considered too large for most commercial transactions.
In 1851 the original obverse dies had a blank "D" or "C" on the obverse where the engraver could punch odd amounts for the dollars and cents; however, in practice only fifty dollar amounts were issued. The labor intensive lettered edge design were soon revised with a reeded edge and were issued with the Humbert and U.S. Assay Office imprints. A plethora of contemporary names exist for these coins including ingot, slug, adobe, quintuple eagle, and five-eagle piece.
Fifty dollar U.S. Assay pieces dated 1852 were issued in .887 and .900 purity, with the .900 actually being struck in early 1853. When the San Francisco mint opened in 1854, the majority of fifty dollar pieced were melted and recoined into federal gold of smaller denominations. The 1852 .900 coins, are slightly more rare than the .887 sibling
*Coin condition is based on our professional opinion. Pictures are representative of the coin that you will receive, actual coin may differ slightly, and serial numbers may vary*
Currently Out of Stock