✅ SOLVED 3 gold coins found, not sure what they are.

[greenman38]

Found all 3 coins in a jar of mixed coins. Tried to look them up online, but couldn't find the exact same. Thanks for any information.

 

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[xr7ator]

Look up California fractional gold coins.

 

[Peyton Manning]

Looks like the 1852 one lost some gold paint

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Cool find. The 1816 looks plated

 

[greenman38]

It was a spec of dirt that popped right off. Sorry about that, bad eyes. I added a new picture without the dirt, lets hope I uploaded it right. Thanks

 

[greenman38]

I think you might be right on the 1816 being plated. When I zoom in real close it looks to be missing gold around the hole punched in it. Thanks for the info. How do I find out if any of them real? Take them to a local coin store?

 

[A2coins]

Seem to lack detail do you have a jewers loop you could see if theres peeling or you could let us know what it reads on your detecor if you use one.. I hope they are real Im sure someone will have a better easy way to test those. Welcome to tnet

 

[A2coins]

Do they stick to a magnet

 

[greenman38]

none stick to a magnet, don't have a detector, did zoom into 120x on my eye piece, and didn't see any peeling, but that is how I saw the spec of dirt on the one. thanks for the help. I'll see if I can find someone to ask in my area.

 

[GaRebel1861]

Have them looked at by someone who can see them in person. I don’t believe any of them are made of gold- JMO.

 

[smokeythecat]

There is a lot of literature on these. Back in the 1920's or so they started reproducing them also. I have no idea if yours are the originals or not. I'd go to a coin dealer and get an opinion.

 

[flinthunter]

If real, the 1816 would actually be an 1876. I could be wrong, but none of these look right to me. Rather than being stamped, they look to me like they were made in a mold. Good luck. I hope they are real.

 

[smokeythecat]

Flinthunter has a good point. Look at the edges. The originals were stamped. Never cast. There should be no casting ridges on the edges of the coins.

 

[chetler]

They do not look right to me! I would have them checked but do not get your hopes up too high. I would rather be pleasantly surprised than disappointed. But even if they are not real gold; I still like them.

 

[LouMiller]

They are still cool , but thry look to me like charms from a womans bracelet. Sure hope that i am wrong.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

They look like souvenirs to me, or made to pass off as real.

The way to determine if they are gold is to do a specific gravity test.
You will need access to a small balance beam scale.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

California gold coinage is a broad category of privately-issued coin-like items that were used in place of official currency in the United States territory (later state) of California during the gold rush of 1849. Since the federal government reserves the right to issue legal tender coins, California gold coinage is a misnomer and actually references coin-like ingots with a stated tender value, tokens with a stated tender value (denominated), and tokens without a stated tender value (non-denominated). These items are only classified as an ingot if the value of the metal was close to the tender value marked on the piece. In spite of the misnomer, it is common practice among numismatists to label coin-like ingots and denominated tokens as 'coins' while labeling the non-denominated tokens as 'tokens'. Also, the small California Gold coins and tokens have been made in many locations other than California, often with a claim of being from California on the piece and these items are generally labeled as California Gold Coins or Tokens.

Coin-like ingots were produced from 1849 until 1856 in denominations of $1, $5, $10, $20, $25, and $50. Many of these were made by well-known assayers. Some of these achieved circulation on the east coast of the United States. All are highly valued today.[1]

Tokens with a stated tender value were produced from 1852 until 1883 as well as spuriously in later years. These were made in denominations of $1, $0.50, and $0.25 in both round and octagonal shapes. In the early period, from roughly 1852 through 1853, the coins were made for actual use due to a scarcity of silver coins. These coins were quickly rejected as being too small to handle, but simultaneously gained popularity for use as souvenirs that could be economically mailed to families. Although the earliest issues had about 80-90% of the correct weight for the denomination, the weights constantly decreased over the years of issue. Only the extremely rare "defiant eagle" issue has the full weight of gold.[2]

Tokens without a stated tender value have been produced since 1869. The Coinage Act of 1864 made the private creation of items intended to be passed as legal tender to be illegal. This law was first enforced in an obscure case in Boston in 1869 and later enforced in a more public fashion at Ft. Leavenworth in 1871. At that time several manufacturers stopped production of the denominated pieces and new manufacturers stepped with a mix of denominated and non-denominated issues. After an overzealous visit from the United States Secret Service in 1883 (no charges were ever pressed), all of the remaining manufacturers switched to non-denominated issues. Since then issues have been produced, often with gold-rush era dates on them, more or less continuously through the present.

 

[Mackaydon]

Welcome to treasurenet !!
IMO: Replicas
Don......

 

[nkellam22]

They are California gold tokens made during and shortly after the gold rush but sadly these look to be fake. At least the 1st and 3rd. The second one could be real but i am not sure.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Any pawn shop can test gold. Or try a tiny drop of Nitric Acid. Even if the are not gold, they may have value as period counterfeits. I would be thrilled to find them.