1854 $20 California Gold Double Eagle - Kellogg & Co. NGC MS61

Here’s a rare and attractive greenish-gold artifact of the California Gold Rush. Kellogg & Co. specimens are rare, for the vast majority of them were melted after the San Francisco Mint became fully operational around the mid-1850s. This dramatic piece features a strong strike and original coloration. NGC has graded 11 as MS61 with just 5 finer. Collectors Universe gives this issue a price of $57,500.00 in MS61.

Gold miners in 1850 California. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

It was on February 9, 1854, that Kellogg and Richter began producing Kellogg & Co. $20 gold double eagles. Kellogg said that his mint could strike $20,000 worth of such coins each and every day. The dies for the coins were probably crafted by Albert Kuner. They were imitative of the federal-issued Liberty head $20 gold pieces that were minted for circulation starting in 1850.

The differences between the private issues and the U.S. Mint issues were that the coronet on the obverse read KELLOGG & CO instead of LIBERTY, while the reverse around the rim read SAN FRANCISCO GOLD instead of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The Kellogg & Co. double eagles were also struck in 1855, for the new San Francisco branch mint's operations were erratic. In essence, without the mintage of $20 gold pieces by Kellogg & Co. in 1854-55, the California economy may very well have collapsed. Kellogg himself lived to become one of the State’s most respected citizens.