gold or not? and any suggestions on why this coin has a pin?

[dboy1980]

hi all i decided to wrestle the cold today and went to an 1800s house here close by and got a seated dime which was all beat up and the thing im writing this post about....its really tiny so the pics kinda suck but the face has an indian head and stars around the head date says 1853 the back says california gold and looks like some kind of design towards the bottom on the sides....and there is a id say 3 inch pin thats attached to the back side....any ideas?

 

[Argentium]

Yes , thats a "stick pin" a popular ladies fashion item during the Victorian period, these were worn on hats , coats , sweaters etc.

 

[RJGMC]

Do an image search of 1853 California gold coin and enjoy what you see. I would venture a guess that it is a stickpin made from a genuine California fractional gold coin.

Just my two cents!

Congrats!

RJGMC
HI BOB!

 

[dboy1980]

ahh nice ok ty for that...think its real gold?

 

[vpnavy]

Nice find dboy1980!

 

[Rick (Nova Scotia)]

The 1853 is a very rare coin as a round of 1 dollar size.

Because it is rare it is often faked.

Krause cat, shows the obverse is not an indian.
the reverse as having the denomination (1/2, or 1/4 dollar) inside a wreath, or an eagle, (1 dollar, and 1/2 dolar)

AS you can see today on ebay no 1853 round matches yours.

1853 in Fractional, Pioneer | eBay

May well be gold, but seriously doubt a genuine period coin.