Dubosq & Co. $5 Die Trial
Matched Pair of 1850 Dubosq & Co. $5 Die Trials. Obverse and Reverse Splashers. K-3 and K-3a. Rarity-8. White Metal. MS-63 (NGC).
This is an exceptionally rare and desirable offering from one of the more challenging private minting firms to service Gold Rush California. Encapsulated by NGC in individual holders, this pieces have been placed into a simple plastic sleeve before being sealed in the slab. They both exhibit pleasing silver gray patina overall with the design elements boldly rendered. An oblong section including the date has detached from the lower edge of the obverse splasher, while the reverse splasher remains mostly intact, aside from a few minor chips. The back of the reverse splasher also features a small paper fragment used to hold the white metal together during the striking process. A rare and intriguing pairing that is sure to see spirited bidding at auction. The DuBosq firm had begun to coin gold in earnest in 1850, but misfortune stuck when Augustus Humbert, official assayer in the area, reported that DuBosq's $5 gold pieces only contained $4.96 in gold, which finding was published in the newspaper Alta California. DuBosq claimed that the balance of four cents would be more than made up by the silver alloy in the gold, but the fat was in the fire and the wrath of the local populace demanded full gold value and most of the DuBosq coins were returned only to be melted into other territorial gold coins. Precious few survive today of the $5 and $10 denominations. For the advanced collector, our offering of these $5 splashers, rare in their own right, may be the only opportunity to obtain a true DuBosq relic from this historic and important era in history.
From the Samuel J. Berngard Collection.
Estimate: $7500