1850 Baldwin & Co. $5. K-2. Rarity-5. AU Details--Repaired (NGC).

A more affordable example of this rare California Gold Rush territorial issue, both sides offer deep honey-gold color and virtually full, generally razor sharp striking detail. The latter feature is particularly significant since most survivors of this type are softly defined as made, due to wear, or for both reasons. A curiously matte-like texture helps to explain the NGC qualifier, but no sizeable marks assail the eye during in hand viewing. The Baldwin & Co. $5 coin closely resembles the federal half eagle, but the firm's 1850 $10 bears Kuner's famed "Vaquero" obverse with a mounted cowboy swinging a lasso. In 1851, the firm added $20 gold pieces to their repertoire and circulation continued, with most merchants accepting the coins at par. This all came to a quick end when James King of William submitted samples of each denomination to Augustus Humbert for assay. Humbert reported that the Baldwin pieces were underweight: the $20 piece had $19.40 of gold, the $10 only $9.40, while the $5 coin fared better with a valuation of $4.91. Even though some weight discrepancies could reasonably be expected, the assay and the subsequent news reports had a deleterious effect on Baldwin's business. Branded a "short-weight gold swindle," the pieces were driven from circulation, as businesses refused to accept them except at a steep discount. Although Baldwin tried to counter the accusations with a more favorable assay from Kohler, the damage had been done and on April 15, 1851, Baldwin closed up shop and left California on the steamship Panama. As a result of the constant denunciations, not only did almost all of the Baldwin & Co. coins end up in the melting pot, so too did most of the other private coiners' products. Now, Baldwin & Co. coins are prized by numismatists who are attracted to pioneer California gold. Very few exist in any grade, confirming the significance of the present offering for the advanced collector.

PCGS# 10025. NGC ID: ANHJ.

Estimate: $10000