Awesome write up, really enjoyed reading through. I would certainly disagree with the fact that beavers aren't rare - in any sense - there are plenty of well-financed collectors who do not have access to one across the open market or private hands. I've been actively trading at every large show for the past few years and seek out rarities like these - I have yet to come across a beaver, so kudos for finding one especially dead original and unmolested.
I finished my reread but I am not confident in my knowledge of these coins or pioneer coins in general to draw specific conclusions. At one point you mention the amount of detail on the beaver but i would be very curious to know what is considered the "required' detail for the different grades 35, 40 , 45 etc. I also understand that "strike' plays an important role but with most standard Federal coins if a coin lacks specific detail then that is taken into consideration when assigning a specific grade.
The last thing that puzzles me is that with Federal coins the amount of luster remaining plays a huge role in the determination of whether a coin should get a grade of 45 or higher. There are so few of these i can't help but wonder how anyone knows how much luster they should have. @PeakRarities . If you ever revist this discussion I would be curious to hear what specific details you look for at the different grades. TPG's aside, all collectors make their own standards, that doesn't mean the rest of the world agrees. james
Just like any other coin, I just try to establish a baseline from the coins that are already graded and accepted by the market, and learn from the dealers and collectors who handle most of them. My take is that the thresholds and definitions are much less consequential when they are for a single year type, or the entire series of that type.
Many pioneer issues used primitive equipment , poorly prepared planchets, and the composition of the unrefined gold being used makes it much softer. Rather than a 90/10 copper alloy, it could be an 87/13 with the 13% being silver like these Oregon issues. Ultimately, they would coin whatever gold dust or nugget was supplied by patrons, so the alloy composition had no QC They weren't being made at a semi-official facility like the SF Office, these were literally just businessmen who decided they were going to make coins. Their level of experience can be deduced by the "T.O." on the obverse, which was supposed to be "O.T." (Oregon Territory)... This excerpt from "Browns political history of Oregon: Provisional Government" claims that the steel used to create the press was gathered from "Old wagon tires and such scraps", and also that the engraving mistake was "of great dissatisfaction to father, but it required so much work to make a new die, vvthat it was concluded to let it go".
When you think about things in that context, it helps paint the picture and imagine the type of quality being produced here. There wasn't traditional cartwheel "luster", as luster is a byproduct of the die texture imparted on the coin. I don't know the specific details of the coining press they made, but I would imagine that it was operated by a sledge hammer. With such variable strike pressure, the closest thing to luster would be reflectivity, surfaces that were somewhat proof like. This is the finest known example, an MS-62 which was likely set aside from some of the first strikings, this is the closest thing we have to a proof or a "presentation piece" -
The second finest known is this AU-58 CAC, and it appears to be a much later die state -
We can see that many of the reverse abrasions are as struck, considering they are under the lettering, and the "protected areas" look similar to the open fields. Man argument could be made that this piece never actually circulated. This shows that these coins didn't start out as gems, and would wear quickly once in circulation. There are only two AU examples that can be found in the archives, posted below, a 55 and a 53 respectively.
Neither are CAC approved, but the AU55 seemingly shows some luster, probably about as much as a moderately circulated piece could have. The AU 53 doesn't look very lustrous, but both coins have sharper detail, though the amount of beaver fur lines are not too much more detailed than my coin. Other than the PCGS 45cac in the OP, there is another 45cac NGC in HA archives -
There is only one recently photographed XF-40 on HA, also non cac -
There are not one PCGS graded 30 or 35 in public auction records. The next best coin is a VF-25, non cac -
So all I'm doing is extrapolating based on standards that have already been in place for several decades, it doesn't take long to look at every public APR to get an idea of how these are graded. NGC graded it as a 50 at least 20 years ago, and there are several more NGC AU's that look no better. The beaver fur lines are the first thing to wear down on the central devices, and this one still has some visible on the midsection. The reverse shows some reflectivity in the fields when under direct light, but the overall surfaces look much nicer than the one XF-40, and as nice or better than either of the CAC 45s. I'm just placing the coin in the hierarchy established by each of the grading services, but even on a technical basis I think it's solid as a 40. Even if I think a 45 should have less wear or more "luster", my statement is not necessarily that it is rock solid as a 45, it's that it is nice enough to be in a 45 holder.
@PeakRarities . Thanks for answer. I once had a friend who collected over 100 California fractionals. I asked him how he knew what grade any of them were if their is no grading standard and Kirk said, "I am the grading standard". That was back in the early 1990's. I guess the prevalence of pictures on the internet has been a tremendous boon. james
Apropos rarity, I have in my lifetime held in my hands five 1804 Dollars at various times, five 1913 Liberty nickels all at once, two 1894-S Dimes, and one Oregon Beaver gold coin.
Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
I used to own these 2 and can't find a picture of the Oregon $10 I had - enjoyed owning them all and hope the new owners do as well!
Edited to say, I found the Oregon $10 - very hard to find in decent condition!
"My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal.
Comments
@peakRarities How many of the approximate 40 extant are in museums?
Mark
Awesome write up, really enjoyed reading through. I would certainly disagree with the fact that beavers aren't rare - in any sense - there are plenty of well-financed collectors who do not have access to one across the open market or private hands. I've been actively trading at every large show for the past few years and seek out rarities like these - I have yet to come across a beaver, so kudos for finding one especially dead original and unmolested.
Just like any other coin, I just try to establish a baseline from the coins that are already graded and accepted by the market, and learn from the dealers and collectors who handle most of them. My take is that the thresholds and definitions are much less consequential when they are for a single year type, or the entire series of that type.
Many pioneer issues used primitive equipment , poorly prepared planchets, and the composition of the unrefined gold being used makes it much softer. Rather than a 90/10 copper alloy, it could be an 87/13 with the 13% being silver like these Oregon issues. Ultimately, they would coin whatever gold dust or nugget was supplied by patrons, so the alloy composition had no QC They weren't being made at a semi-official facility like the SF Office, these were literally just businessmen who decided they were going to make coins. Their level of experience can be deduced by the "T.O." on the obverse, which was supposed to be "O.T." (Oregon Territory)... This excerpt from "Browns political history of Oregon: Provisional Government" claims that the steel used to create the press was gathered from "Old wagon tires and such scraps", and also that the engraving mistake was "of great dissatisfaction to father, but it required so much work to make a new die, vvthat it was concluded to let it go".
When you think about things in that context, it helps paint the picture and imagine the type of quality being produced here. There wasn't traditional cartwheel "luster", as luster is a byproduct of the die texture imparted on the coin. I don't know the specific details of the coining press they made, but I would imagine that it was operated by a sledge hammer. With such variable strike pressure, the closest thing to luster would be reflectivity, surfaces that were somewhat proof like. This is the finest known example, an MS-62 which was likely set aside from some of the first strikings, this is the closest thing we have to a proof or a "presentation piece" -
The second finest known is this AU-58 CAC, and it appears to be a much later die state -
We can see that many of the reverse abrasions are as struck, considering they are under the lettering, and the "protected areas" look similar to the open fields. Man argument could be made that this piece never actually circulated. This shows that these coins didn't start out as gems, and would wear quickly once in circulation. There are only two AU examples that can be found in the archives, posted below, a 55 and a 53 respectively.
Neither are CAC approved, but the AU55 seemingly shows some luster, probably about as much as a moderately circulated piece could have. The AU 53 doesn't look very lustrous, but both coins have sharper detail, though the amount of beaver fur lines are not too much more detailed than my coin. Other than the PCGS 45cac in the OP, there is another 45cac NGC in HA archives -
There is only one recently photographed XF-40 on HA, also non cac -
There are not one PCGS graded 30 or 35 in public auction records. The next best coin is a VF-25, non cac -
So all I'm doing is extrapolating based on standards that have already been in place for several decades, it doesn't take long to look at every public APR to get an idea of how these are graded. NGC graded it as a 50 at least 20 years ago, and there are several more NGC AU's that look no better. The beaver fur lines are the first thing to wear down on the central devices, and this one still has some visible on the midsection. The reverse shows some reflectivity in the fields when under direct light, but the overall surfaces look much nicer than the one XF-40, and as nice or better than either of the CAC 45s. I'm just placing the coin in the hierarchy established by each of the grading services, but even on a technical basis I think it's solid as a 40. Even if I think a 45 should have less wear or more "luster", my statement is not necessarily that it is rock solid as a 45, it's that it is nice enough to be in a 45 holder.
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@PeakRarities . Thanks for answer. I once had a friend who collected over 100 California fractionals. I asked him how he knew what grade any of them were if their is no grading standard and Kirk said, "I am the grading standard". That was back in the early 1990's. I guess the prevalence of pictures on the internet has been a tremendous boon. james
Apropos rarity, I have in my lifetime held in my hands five 1804 Dollars at various times, five 1913 Liberty nickels all at once, two 1894-S Dimes, and one Oregon Beaver gold coin.
A really great read @PeakRarities even though I know absolutely nothing about Oregon Beaver gold or other early pioneer gold-
Really enjoyed the read! Thanks for posting it.
I used to own these 2 and can't find a picture of the Oregon $10 I had - enjoyed owning them all and hope the new owners do as well!
Edited to say, I found the Oregon $10 - very hard to find in decent condition!