1906 San Francisco Earthquake -- Fire-fused Double Eagle with silver coins.
JesseKraft
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Today is the 114th anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Here is a double eagle that fused with three silver coins in the fires that ensued. 39.242 grams. The coins were a gift of J.D. Spreckels, Jr. in 1908, son of the railroad tycoon.
American Numismatic Society, 1908.243.1
Jesse C. Kraft, Ph.D.
Resolute Americana Curator of American Numismatics
American Numismatic Society
New York City
Member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), British Numismatic Society (BNS), New York Numismatic Club (NYNC), Early American Copper (EAC), the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4), U.S. Mexican Numismatic Association (USMNA), Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC), Token and Medal Society (TAMS), and life member of the Atlantic County Numismatic Society (ACNS).
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Comments
I'm still ticked that I waited too long to buy the So Called Dollar for the SF earthquake.
It was improperly cleaned.
But cheap.
darn
That is one I've never seen or knew existed. What's on the reverse? I'm away from my HK.
Rev. is EDIFICE; BELOW RUINS OF CITY Hall, above all
has San Francisco Earthquake & Fire, below all is Souvenir
and beaded border. Comes in Silver, reeded edge. 36mm
some Silver - plated, some Brass, some Aluminum.
Nos 340, 340a, 341, 342.
R.I.P. Bear
My great great grandmother lived in SF during the earthquake. I have a gold pocket watch that made it through the earthquake but then got burned when her home burned down a day later. If the watch had not gotten burned it would be about a $40K watch as it was made by a jeweller in SF in the 1880's.
Are you sure that is not really a rare "error"?
Very cool!
My coin dealer had a blob of melted liberty nickels that were supposedly from the ‘06 quake.
I have never seen one of these!
In 2006 the US Mint issued a $5 commemorative gold coin for the centennial of the San Francisco earthquake and fire. It's one of the more attractive modern commemorative gold coins with the obverse showing the old San Francisco Mint and the reverse showing the original half eagle design with the S mintmark..
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
Amazing piece. Great info and history.
I looked up Spreckels and learned that his father was largely responsible for building San Diego! His father moved to San Diego immediately after the earthquake.
Here's some interesting reading:
Interesting pieces....the melting point of silver is just about 200 degrees less than gold (and alloy will vary those temperatures a bit)...However, when melted, they are nuggets....
well, sort of.... 
Cheers, RickO
One of my best garage sale finds was a fire charred melted sterling silver set. IIRC, it was $10. It was Gorham sterling knife fork spoon etc, that had most likely been in a wooden velvet lined box, as they were basically still lined up. There was enough left to recognize the pattern (with a quick google search) and it went straight off the smelter. Almost 10 pounds, IIRC.
When I lived in San Diego, I went to Spreckles Theater.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spreckels_Theatre
Mark Feld* of Heritage Auctions*Unless otherwise noted, my posts here represent my personal opinions.
The Spreckles theater is fantastic and a must see if you have time to spare in San Diego, once this virus thing clears up. I was a volunteer usher for a while. Also, San Diego is a seismically safer place to be compared to San Francisco.
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Although there's no way to know where this glob of Liberty Nickels came from, it could have been from the San Francisco quake of 1906:
The top and bottom coins are dated 1902, and appear to have been in great shape prior to being exposed to great heat. They were obviously in a stack when fused; it looks like there could be some steel attached to the glob as well. Were coins at banks/ retail outlets stacked in a coin counter at that time?
There is a S.F. Earthquake lot containing three or four different varieties of this medal in an auction closing today.
Wow! Those are fantastic! Amazing someone thought to save them way back then.
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Eight piece lot including HK 340, 340A, 341 (2), 342 (3), 343 (one damaged, others vf+ to unc) brought $250 including the juice. A decent buy for resale.
Awesome peace of history 👍
Love the eagle in all of its detailed glory on the reverse of the 2006 commem. The obverse fails to capture the grandeur of the building itself. I used to work a couple blocks from the Old Mint and walked by it almost every day.
I have a fused group that also may have come from a cash box in SF after the quake. Unfortunately no way to prove the story. Still a cool chunk of silver!
@scubafuel . Too cool! I love it.
Jesse C. Kraft, Ph.D.
Resolute Americana Curator of American Numismatics
American Numismatic Society
New York City
Member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA), British Numismatic Society (BNS), New York Numismatic Club (NYNC), Early American Copper (EAC), the Colonial Coin Collectors Club (C4), U.S. Mexican Numismatic Association (USMNA), Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC), Token and Medal Society (TAMS), and life member of the Atlantic County Numismatic Society (ACNS).
Become a member of the American Numismatic Society!
Here is a related encased cent that is uncommon but not rare - there are a couple similar varieties. (Images borrowed from the NBS as I don't have one currently in inventory):
Very cool!
I enjoyed seeing these and it reminded me I had a fire fused piece around here somewhere. I finaly found them and took a few shots. I have no idea how they came to be burned...
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Each item clump is amazing in it's own right. Certainly reminds me of the trials and tribulations of @crazyhounddog . Peace Roy
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