Heritage World Coin Auctions
FUN Signature US Coin Sale 1251 4-6 & 8-9 Jan 2017
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Territorial Gold
1855 $50 Wass Molitor Fifty Dollar -- Surfaces Tooled -- PCGS Genuine. K-9, R.5. The PCGS number ending in .98 suggests Damage as the reason, or one of the reasons, that PCGS deemed this coin not gradable. In our opinion, this coin has the details of a VF specimen that has been tooled and repaired. The bright greenish-gold surfaces are otherwise lightly abraded and actual wear is moderate and even.
Despite the noted damage, which is most obvious in the lower-left obverse quadrant, this coin remains an impressive relic of an important era in American history. Wass, Molitor & Co. was primarily an assay office, but they enjoyed a reputation for strict honesty and were called upon by California merchants and bankers to issue private coinage on an emergency basis on several occasions. The distinctive round fifty dollar coins were issued only in 1855, at a time when the U.S. Assay Office of Gold was no longer in operation and the newly established San Francisco Mint was unable to meet the coinage needs of the region, due to a shortage of parting acids. The large denomination coins were very important in settling large transactions, as paper money was not authorized in the California economy.
From The Casady Collection.
1855 $50 Wass Molitor Fifty Dollar -- Surfaces Tooled -- PCGS Genuine. K-9, R.5. The PCGS number ending in .98 suggests Damage as the reason, or one of the reasons, that PCGS deemed this coin not gradable. In our opinion, this coin has the details of a VF specimen that has been tooled and repaired. The bright greenish-gold surfaces are otherwise lightly abraded and actual wear is moderate and even.
Despite the noted damage, which is most obvious in the lower-left obverse quadrant, this coin remains an impressive relic of an important era in American history. Wass, Molitor & Co. was primarily an assay office, but they enjoyed a reputation for strict honesty and were called upon by California merchants and bankers to issue private coinage on an emergency basis on several occasions. The distinctive round fifty dollar coins were issued only in 1855, at a time when the U.S. Assay Office of Gold was no longer in operation and the newly established San Francisco Mint was unable to meet the coinage needs of the region, due to a shortage of parting acids. The large denomination coins were very important in settling large transactions, as paper money was not authorized in the California economy.
From The Casady Collection.