20 Dollars, Moffat & Co., United States, 1853

Description:

Produced at Moffat & Company's mint, San Francisco, California. Obverse: Liberty head, stars around, date below. Reverse: Eagle, denomination. Obverse and reverse designs bear a close and deliberate similarity to those used on the "official" double eagle of the same period produced by the U.S. Mint for regular circulating coins.

Moffat & Company was a major player in the production of California private gold coinage. It was closely connected with Augustus Humbert and the fifty-dollar "slugs" of the United States Assay Office of Gold in San Francisco. Humbert did the assaying and Moffat did the coining. This 1853 double eagle is one of the last coins struck by this prolific California pioneer coiner. It was minted in the late summer or early autumn of 1853.

Date Made: 1853

Maker: Moffat & Company

Location: Currently not on view

Place Of Issue: United States: California

See more items in: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection, Coins, Currency and Medals

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Related Web Publication: http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm

Related Publication: Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 1991.0009.0990Catalog Number: 1991.0009.0990Accession Number: 1991.0009

Object Name: coin

Physical Description: gold (overall metal)0 (overall die axis)0 (overall die axis measurement)struck (overall production method)Measurements: overall: 34 mm; 1 11/32 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-324d-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1101843

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.