Heritage World Coin Auctions
Long Beach Signature US Coin Sale 1252 16-17 Feb 2017
View prices realized
► Sale information
Find similar lots
Territorial Gold
1861 $10 Clark, Gruber & Co. Ten Dollar AU58 NGC. K-7, R.4. Small strikes of gold in Colorado are recorded as early as 1849 -- the year of the California Gold Rush -- and 1850, both panned from the South Platte River mostly by gold-seekers who forged ahead to California, unimpressed by the small Colorado nuggets.
But rumors of gold persisted.
Other parties of potential gold miners, both whites and Indians, led sporadic expeditions to the Rocky Mountains area, one in what is today the Overland Park area of Denver. Another party headed by William Greeneberry Russell in 1858 struck a placer alluvial deposit in Little Dry Creek (present-day Englewood) that yielded about 20 ounces of gold, the first significant discovery recorded for the region.
And another gold rush was under way. Pike's Peak was a mountain near Denver named for Zebulon Pike, who in 1806 led a U.S. Army expedition to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains to map the area, at the time subject of a territorial dispute with Spain. "Pike's Peak or Bust" became the motto for perhaps 100,000 fortune-seekers who invaded the region over the next three years.
While the 1860 Clark, Gruber ten dollar pieces depicted an absurdly unrealistic version of Pike's Peak, the 1861 ten dollar pieces appeared much like the Liberty Head federal gold coins of the era, with PIKES PEAK on the coronet.
This example appears to be a late die state, with die cracks evident in addition to those specifically described by Don Kagin in his reference. The surfaces have nearly full luster with vivid green-gold color, although the overall appearance is a bit muted. Listed on page 406 of the 2017 Guide Book.
Ex: Central States Signature (Heritage, 4/2006), lot 4768; ANA Signature (Heritage, 7-8/2008), lot 1840.
1861 $10 Clark, Gruber & Co. Ten Dollar AU58 NGC. K-7, R.4. Small strikes of gold in Colorado are recorded as early as 1849 -- the year of the California Gold Rush -- and 1850, both panned from the South Platte River mostly by gold-seekers who forged ahead to California, unimpressed by the small Colorado nuggets.
But rumors of gold persisted.
Other parties of potential gold miners, both whites and Indians, led sporadic expeditions to the Rocky Mountains area, one in what is today the Overland Park area of Denver. Another party headed by William Greeneberry Russell in 1858 struck a placer alluvial deposit in Little Dry Creek (present-day Englewood) that yielded about 20 ounces of gold, the first significant discovery recorded for the region.
And another gold rush was under way. Pike's Peak was a mountain near Denver named for Zebulon Pike, who in 1806 led a U.S. Army expedition to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains to map the area, at the time subject of a territorial dispute with Spain. "Pike's Peak or Bust" became the motto for perhaps 100,000 fortune-seekers who invaded the region over the next three years.
While the 1860 Clark, Gruber ten dollar pieces depicted an absurdly unrealistic version of Pike's Peak, the 1861 ten dollar pieces appeared much like the Liberty Head federal gold coins of the era, with PIKES PEAK on the coronet.
This example appears to be a late die state, with die cracks evident in addition to those specifically described by Don Kagin in his reference. The surfaces have nearly full luster with vivid green-gold color, although the overall appearance is a bit muted. Listed on page 406 of the 2017 Guide Book.
Ex: Central States Signature (Heritage, 4/2006), lot 4768; ANA Signature (Heritage, 7-8/2008), lot 1840.