1849 Miners' Bank (San Francisco) $10 Gold. PCGS graded AU-53. Plain Border. Even though this circulated to some extent, it's just a wonderful memento of "pioneer gold" made in early 'Frisco and obviously used among the miners and merchants of its day. Why wonderful? The color, which is a deep orange gold, indicating it retains the same look it had back when it was used for money. The strike, too, is sharp throughout the eagle's feathers, and shows the bird's rounded eye and deadly sharp beak. The surfaces are pocked by tiny abrasions only, indicative of genuine use. The rims are clean and unblemished: nobody threw this one against a wall in a drunken stupor at some Barbary Coast drinking emporium! All in all, a joy for the collector who appreciates originality in a coin handled by real people in an exciting and forever-lost time in America's past. A Gold Rush classic!
PCGS has graded one piece MS-61, another 4 as AU-58, 3 in AU-55, and 5 in AU-53. This is a new AU-53, bringing that number to 6. However, a total of only 25 coins have been reviewed in all grades.
