VERY
RARE 1849 MORMON GOLD $5 NGC
AU53
- $34,950.00 Click on Coin Image to
enlarge
LOVELY
EXAMPLE OF VERY RARE PIONEER GOLD. The piece, usually
found in lower condition, has a few signs of circulation,
in keeping with the grade but none so distracting to
merit individual description. The strike shows unusually
strong borders as well as the typical weakness on the
clasped hands, the eye, and on the numeral 8 in the
date.
In 1861, Governor
Alfred Cumming, a Democrat appointed by President James
Buchanan to replace Brigham Young, prohibited the use
of Mormon gold despite the fact that the 1850 five dollar
piece is reported to have net weight of one-third gram
more gold than the Federal coinage of the time. Cumming
served at the governor of the Territory of Utah from
1858 to 1861.The 1849 five dollar piece has an estimated
mintage of 5,340; however, this figure is largely irrelevant
since most of the Mormon coins that went to California
were melted in 1851 and 1852; surviving pieces are rare.
Please contact me by email
or telephone 1-941-291-2156
to reserve this great coin.
The obverse of this 1849 Mormon Half
Eagle shows a crude, three pointed Phrygian Crown,
which was the emblem of Mormon priesthood above the
All-Seeing Eye. The inscription is HOLINESS TO THE
LORD with the words separated by dots. The reverse
has clasped hands as the central device with the date
below it. The reverse inscription consists of the
letters G.S L.C.P.G. with the denomination written
as FIVE DOLLARS separated by dots.
One of the richest gold discoveries
of during the time of the California Gold Rush was
at Mormon Island, downstream from Sutter’s Mill
on the American River. James Marshall and Sam Brannan
were Mormon “Forty-Niners” who were involved
in the actual discovery of gold. It was Sam Brannan
who galloped through the streets of San Francisco
shouting about the discovery.
