1581

1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. Gold $20. Pike’s Peak Gold. Kagin-4. Rarity-6+. Reeded Edge. Genuine – Graf

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:83,340.00 USD Estimated At:NA
1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. Gold $20. Pike’s Peak Gold. Kagin-4. Rarity-6+. Reeded Edge. Genuine – Graf
SOLD
150,000.00USD+ (30,000.00) buyer's premium + applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2019 Mar 28 @ 23:48UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Warm honey-gold throughout with lively lemon-yellow mint frost in the protected design areas and enough retained mint luster to satisfy just about any collector. Only faintly marked by circulation though another coin made heavy contact at one point, probably at the mint, either at or soon thereafter striking. A soft furrow of sorts underlines PIKE on the obverse, and traces of reeding are seen within the furrow upon close examination which suggests the clash mark scenario to us. Other marks are modest and of minor significance to our eyes. As for the PCGS qualifier, we detect faint scratching above the reverse eagle that could signify graffiti, and a small raised cross in the field just behind the eagle’s neck. Otherwise, the present piece is wholly acceptable, especially when one considers the absence of numerous pieces in the marketplace. The famed 1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. $20 has always been regarded as a rare issue, from the infancy of the Pioneer gold collecting discipline right through to today. Only nine grading events have occurred for this rarity at PCGS, at least among coins without qualifiers. Of the nine, the two finest circulated pieces are called AU-55, and there is also a MS-60 coin and a MS-61 example; the present piece would fall nicely into the high AU range if not for the qualifier. You may wish to pass on this specimen, but you also will need to be possessed of tremendous patience if you desire one of these – they just don’t come along every day!
The firm of Clark, Gruber & Co. had its origins in Leavenworth, Kansas in the late 1850s where brothers Austin M. and Milton E. Clark ran a successful wholesale food and goods company. By January of 1858, the full extent of the Colorado gold fields was becoming known in neighboring Kansas, and the Clark brothers did landmark business, both in Leavenworth and surrounding areas, but also with prospectors on their way to the Jefferson Territory gold fields around Denver City. In March of the year the brothers formed a banking business with Emanuel Henry Gruber of Maryland, and opened a bank in July, 1858 where they handled the sundry duties of the business. By 1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. had purchased coining machinery and relocated to Denver City where their coining operations began. Throughout their time in the minting business the firm’s coins always circulated at par and were known for their accurate gold content, and complaints were almost nonexistent when compared to some of the other firms that made their own coins over the years from 1848 to the 1860s. PCGS #10138
Pedigree:
PCGS Coin Facts