1848 "CAL" quarter eagles were evidently well known with weeks of delivery.
RogerB
Posts: 8,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
This is one of several letters requesting a "CAL" stamp on quarter eagles made from California gold. If this is representative, then the 1848 CAL QE were not only known contemporaneously, but probably widely distributed and tightly held as treasured mementos.
"New York
February 28, 1849
Director of U.S. Mint
Philadelphia
Gent,
At the request of a New Orleans house whom I represent, I send a package said to contain as
follows:
9 oz. 5 dwt California gold
1 oz 19 dwt 11 grains old jewelry
2 oz 13 dwt 8 grains gold chain
I wish the California gold tested and if practicable made into quarter Eagles with the mark Cal
on. The jewelry I send also at the request as above; which I wish a different assay made, and
when ready, return to me by Adams Express.
Respectfully, etc.
John N. Olcott"
Comments
What/why would the “different assay” be made with the jewelry?
From what I read about "several" prooflike examples existing, I'd have to agree with the saving of them.
My first thought would be that this has to be done to keep the cali gold separate so it can be made into legit quarter eagles with the stamp. So the person writing the letter and doing this whole process got what they wanted with no confusion. Things moved quite slowly back in the day?
Evidently the CAL gold stamp was as desirable then as it is now... for different reasons I believe. At that time it was unique due to the gold rush fever... now it is a period collectible. Cheers, RickO
A follow-up letter of March 1, 1849, from Mint Director Dr. R.M. Patterson is equally
interesting. He indicates that jewelry is no longer accepted by the Mint for coinage
and that the “California” gold appears to be from Africa.
I wonder if there are any contemporaneous newspaper articles mentioning this?
So the (expletive deleted) was lying! There is nothing new under the Sun!
To be honest I would trust the internal Mint documents more. Anything in the newspapers would be secondhand info.
Possibly in other areas, but regarding how widespread knowledge of the coin was, newspapers would provide a first hand account of knowledge distribution. Mint documents would be 3rd party observations to that kind of news distribution.
The letter in the OP may not be representative.
Contemporary newspaper would be a meaningful indicator of the distribution of "CAL" information, but as Coinosaurus notes, not very reliable about facts. Col. Mason's report was the first official public report of the gold discoveries and their extent. The President made it the subject of a special message to Congress. It was widely reported, embellished, edited and otherwise manipulated.
About April 1849 the archives show a substantial increase in California deposits and shipment of samples of "ore" that people wanted assayed. At times, it might have seemed that every finder of pyrite in Ohio was sending in samples. The Department of Interior collected soil samples from several; California locations in an attempt to better understand the extent of gold fields.
Note that most of the land being mined was Federal property.
As to Denga's excellent follow-up letter. The Philadelphia Mint assayers already had a good range of impurities in California gold and that from other places. (See the section in From Mint to Mint.) This made it easy to spot gold that was incorrectly identified. Maybe there was also a temporary premium on Californian gold, so some sellers substituted cheaper foreign gold dust?
[PS: Images of the original materials are available through NNP courtesy of a grant from CSNS and funding through the Newman Foundation. Go take a look -- you'll never know what you might find! ]
I wonder if high-end coin dealers can provide a base for a meaningful population analysis of the CAL QE?
Well that person tried to put one over on them. > @Zoins said:
Yes. Most newspapers would mention such information as gold was a hot topic in 1849 time frame.
An example would be the:
Athens Southern Whig
Thursday, February 1, 1849, Athens, Georgia, United States Of America
"The mint at Philadelphia has coined some of the gold received from t'aliforna into quarter eagles, with •* Cal." inscribed over tlie head of the eagle."
Daily New Albany Democrat
Saturday, March 3, 1849, New Albany, Indiana, United States Of America
"Califoemu Gold at thb Mi.nt.—We understand says the Union that the amount of California gold depoxiied at the mint of Philadelphia for coinage up to Wednesday last was iS8,S22. The only coinage of Calilornia gold is in quarter eagles, and amounts to 83,897 50. Ot these, the pieces transmitted to John Y. Mason. Egq., the Secretary of the Navy, were marked with the letters "Cal." over the bead of the eagle. The other pieces, with a lew -exceptions, had no-distinctive mark."
You can look this stuff up via a website:
https://newspaperarchive.com/athens-southern-whig-feb-01-1849-p-3/
https://newspaperarchive.com/daily-new-albany-democrat-mar-03-1849-p-2/
But by golly.. reading those old fashioned newspaper are not fun online. Look for the OCR at the bottom.
A screenshot from CoinFacts of an 1848 Cal
http://www.pcgs.com/SetRegistry/publishedset.aspx?s=142753
https://www.autismforums.com/media/albums/acrylic-colors-by-rocco.291/