1849 $5 California Gold Half Eagle - Moffat & Co. PCGS AU53

Here's a fantastic rarity from the early days of the storied California Gold Rush. PCGS has graded only 10 as AU53, with 34 finer.

Moffat & Co. was considered the most important private gold firm during the California Gold Rush. When the U.S. government decided to open the branch mint in San Francisco, they asked two of the firm's partners for assistance. The senior founder, John Little Moffat, had much experience in gold mining and production, having worked in the gold fields of Georgia and North Carolina and as an assayer before heading to California to make his fortune.  When in California, Moffat and partners started an assaying and smelting business.

Miners during the California Gold Rush. This piece was crafted of gold from the Gold Rush.

Since they had testimonials from people such as the Secretary of the Treasury, Moffat & Co. hit the ground running upon arriving in California. They initially produced rectangular gold ingots that, while impractical, provided desperately needed coinage. Soon after setting up their shop, they engaged the services of die sinker Albrecht Ferdinand Kuner, who later engraved California's State Seal. Kuner modeled his work upon the federal Coronet gold coins of the period. While they were not the first private issues during the Gold Rush, they were considered to be of such premium quality that they sealed Moffat & Co.'s reputation as the leading private mint of the Gold Rush period. Kuner's half eagles were produced from the fall of 1849 until early 1850.