Jewlery Coin?

[Groovedymond]

Hi Guys. Long story short, my daughter was given a HOARD of different coins (US and Foreign). This is one that was mixed in. It looks and feels fake. I think it was some kind of jewlery at some point. Anyone know any info on it?

Thanks.

 

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[gollum]

Hey,

I found this on another site about your coin:

Hello, I had a question about a coin minted in 1855 by Blake and Co assayers in California. I could not figure out how to ask the coin doc a question on the site. In Archive 6 there was a previous question and answer regarding the "replica" by another person. I have the same coin which I was told was a replica by a coin dealer 30 years ago. I am curious about who replicated and why. I read also in a coin book that there were many of these twenty dollar coins, fake, known. If I had not discovered this coin in the ground in Colorado where the wagon trains went over a pass and were charged a toll to do so at this particular place, I might not be so curious. The toll gate was active during the same period as the coin minting. Is it possible that Blake and Co. was one of the assay groups who took people's gold and gave them back coins that were not totally gold?

No. The Blake replicas are modern twentieth century copies. San Francisco assay houses like Blake & Agrell, Kellogg & Co. and Was Molitor & Co. and many others assayed other peoples gold for a fee, cast them into bars and stamped them with their mark guaranteeing the purity and weight. Some of the earliest established assayers also minted their own coins as emergency money before the San Francisco Mint got up to speed. By 1855 the U.S. government began to frown on private issue coinage. That's why the Blake pieces were never a circulating coin, it was too late. Only one Blake and Co $20 gold coin is known to exist. It is in the Eli Lilly collection that is currently housed at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. The assayers of this period played an important and historic role in the development of the California gold fields. Note that most of these firms were known for their scrupulous honesty. The private issue coins that are available always bring spirited competition when offered for sale at auction.


On another site, I found that 99% of all Blake&Co Coins are fakes. The only real ones were found in California.

Here's another one on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/20-Gold-Blake-Company-Assayers-1855-Replica-Coin_W0QQitemZ130017544094QQihZ003QQcategoryZ39473QQcmdZViewItem


If you think it is gold, have it tested at a Jewelry Store. If it is gold, then it may be real (don't get your hopes up though).

Best,
Mike

 

[PBK]

See "All That Glitters," bottom of the page, at:

http://www.treasurenet.com/westeast/data/askmarkparker/robots/200411.htm

 

[Groovedymond]

Thanks guys! That is great info. I'm pretty sure that it's fake. I love the Plymouth story. That seems to fit where I live in a small city with quite a few Car Dealers, so it makes sense.

One curious question. If you look at the first picture, at the 1:00 position, there is a small tab that hangs off one edge. Think they did that to make it look more authentic..... or was it just that badly made..... or, what?!?!? What do you think?

As a side note.. the tab is not an addition (soldered or anything)... it is part of the coin. When I first looked at this coin, that tab is what clued me into thinking it was jewlery.. but, on an after thought, if it were jewlery, I would think that tab would have some kind of 'soldering' look where the coin was attached to something. It doesn't have that.

 

[gollum]

Nah. That's from when they cast a bunch of them on what looks like a model tree, they twist them off the tree, and that leaves the little tab.

Mike

 

[stud564]

nice finds