1852 $50 California Silver Obverse Uniface Restrike - U.S. Assay Office 900 Thous. NGC MS63

"1852" United States Assay Office of Gold $50. Uniface Obverse Silver Restrike. K-1a. Rarity-8. Thin Planchet. NGC MS63.

46 millimeters, 1 millimeter thick. Obverse restrike of the United States Assay Office of Gold $50 "slug," signed KUHNER E under eagle. Technically a copy, as the eagle is in the style of the 1853 $20 gold issues, which Kuhner did engrave. Could this die have originally been intended for a new issue of the $50 gold piece? Rich pewter gray surfaces with splashes of pale rose iridescence in the field around the devices. One of only two or three examples of the K-1a variety known.

Kuhner engraved the dies for a number of Western gold pieces. He was the chief engraver for Moffat & Co., but produced coins for other private minting firms such as Baldwin & Co. This particular die was also used to produce silver spoons as late as 1915.

Provenance: From the Bowers & Merena Baltimore Auction of November 2011, lot 9121 where it brought $4,312.50.