BG-1029, 1871 California Fractional Gold 50C, Liberty Round PCGS MS62 Prooflike

Here’s a rare piece to add to your collection of California Fractional Gold. PCGS has graded one example as MS63 Prooflike with none finer. In fact, this is the sole Prooflike example graded by PCGS!

According to Wikipedia, fractional gold coinage was produced by the California Jewelry Co. as legal tender for only one year, 1871. Those pieces carry an "L" mintmark for Levison Brothers. They made five different designs in both the quarter dollar (BG-768-771 & 841) and half dollar (BG-926 & 927, BG-1028-1030) denominations. These coins were struck with California gold. 

The Levinson Brothers/California Jewelry Co. purchased R.B. Gray Co. of San Francisco, and therefore continued to produce fractional gold coins using those facilities until the authorities attempted to discontinue its production. An ex-Levison Brothers employee continued to use the dies for coin production for several more years.

The Levison Brothers / California Jewelry Co. San Francisco Headquarters at 134 Sutter St., San Francisco as it appeared in the 1870s. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

The building that accommodated Levison Brothers/California Jewelry Co. was for many years located at 132, 134, and 136 Sutter Street, San Francisco. It was designed and built by the firm’s partners. The Daily Alta California reported that the building was a 3-story plus basement structure erected at a cost of $130,000 (in 1871 dollars). It included full lapidary machinery for gem cutting, with Mr. Cullen serving as the in-house head of jewelry design.