Little Ladies of 1869 -- completed 1869 set of California Fractional Gold
mercurydimeguy
Posts: 4,625 ✭✭✭✭
This is a complete set of 1869 California Fractional Gold coins. Many of these are OGH, some I crossed from old-school NGC holders. The BG-919 was my first purchase, and I was hooked. The BG-1020 was in an NGC PL holder, and looked straight up proof in hand. Really "wow" kind of coin. The last coin, the BG-750, was recently acquired by me. This coin has not see an auction block since 2010, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to acquire it. I hope you enjoy these "Little Ladies of 1869."
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Comments
Now that's a cool set that you don't see everyday...congrats!
I love the way you collected Calfracs. My personal favorite is the BG-748, 749,750 & 751. Those are the quarter dollar octagons with the shield on the reverse. For some reason, other collectors find them highly desirable so they are tough to locate and when available very sought after. Congrats!
That is one amazing set my coin brother! Congratulations on a HUGE accomplishment.
I for one find this set VERY attractive and interesting.
Well done!!
Very nice set - thanks for sharing.
I have a few Cal fractionals and like the idea of picking a date for a set. Will have to figure out what date works for me.
“In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
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Very nice! You have a great eye for quality coins.
That is a way cool set.....Congrats.....!!
Nice! Now what's next?
Very, very nice set... Congratulations... Cheers, RickO
That's a beautiful set!
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Great short set. Congratulations.
Now, try to hunt down the 1869 EEBD gold token (same size as 7XX Calfracs and it is oct shape). It is listed in Virgil's book as misc-1. The EEBD token came from Boston area and it has a long history associated with it.
@mercurydimeguy Your set is truly impressive! You need to change your name to calfracguy!
How long did it take to complete this set?
talk about dedication...most impressive
i especially like the look you chose for each piece. very nicely one. that's one cool set.
Awesome! With the PL designation, I wonder if the coin is worth more in NGC. I would say YES.
Thank you everyone for your feedback, it is very humbling
@Mark it took me a few years. It was kind of "lumpy." Some coins are difficult to locate nice and some difficult to locate in any grade. Most have under 100 pieces and some are under 30 pieces, and collectors of these things don't part with them as quickly as some other things. Getting natural coins was challenging, so I tried to look for OGH or make myself. It was a lot harder than I could imagine, it's difficult to collect things that are so thinly traded with a lot of demand for nice specimens.
@Wabbit2313 you are probably right, but I'm hoping that the coin speaks for itself (no matter the holder or grade) when someone views it in hand. I don't have near-term plans of selling any of them so time will tell. I wish PCGS would designate PL, that would be very cool
@ShadyDave I'm in the middle of collecting an 1869 set of everything. I'm 8 coins away from reaching 100. So I'm focused on finding unique coins to add to my collection that would make it more interesting. Check it out, it's in my sig line. I'm also doing a Numismatic Curiosities collection with my son, which is wide open for cool and odd stuff, so I'm hoping I'll have collecting to keep me busy for a while.
@jcping
LOL on that one piece, I knew someone would bring it up. I've researched it, and it is either a fantasy or an error or an oversight or if someone really does own it, they have literally a singularly unique coin. It's BG-831, PCGS has a price of $5,500 for it, and survival of 1 single coin. I kind of gave up on the idea of finding it, but believe you me if it exists, and it somehow comes up for sale, I'll be in the front row bidding on it 
BG-831 could be an MIA calfracs. I did not know any Calfracs collector or dealers know where it is, so are BG-211 and BG-606.
For EEBD token, I knew at least 4 existed. The short version of the long story is the guy EEBD is selling tooth paste and inside the tooth paste box, a gold token is included and in the label it is marked it as "specie," universally accepted coin. This triggered 1864 law that you cannot privately mint coins as currency. Based on the Boston March 1869 newspaper, the tooth paste operation was shut down by FBI.
Have fun to find one. They do exist and fun to have one. A great show and tell piece.
What a wonderful set - thank you for sharing it. That BG-907 is a jaws dropper for sure!
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