Home U.S. Coin Forum

1856 Indian Head California Gold

Hello. I have a 1856 Indian Head California Gold Piece. It weights .3 grams. I tested it on the edge with a gold tester its 80-85% Gold. The Indian head figure, neck area is smaller looking than others I have seen on the net.

If you have any information on this item, I would appreciate any help identifying it. Thanks for any help in advance.

4 Pics below

Comments

  • AMRCAMRC Posts: 4,266 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I am curious about the Gold Tester you used that gave you that reading? Got a picture of that?

    MLAeBayNumismatics: "The greatest hobby in the world!"
  • RogerBRogerB Posts: 8,852 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It's a jewelry token, not a coin. It may or may not contain any gold.

  • Insider2Insider2 Posts: 14,452 ✭✭✭✭✭

    IMO, folks should not use any type of destructive method on a coin, including acids on the edge, to test for gold!

    I learned the hard way and ruined several pieces in my ignorance using an "ACME" Gold Tester I got from an "old-time" dealer.

  • thebeavthebeav Posts: 3,788 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Yes, that may very well be gold, but, as has been reported, it is a charm and not a coin. They're worth about 10 or 15 percent of the coins when they're gold.

  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    As stated above, not a 'coin'...jewelry or commercial token... Possibly gold plated....Get an XRF test done...Cheers, RickO

Leave a Comment

BoldItalicStrikethroughOrdered listUnordered list
Emoji
Image
Align leftAlign centerAlign rightToggle HTML viewToggle full pageToggle lights
Drop image/file