1830 $2 1/2 Templeton Reid Quarter Eagle MS61 NGC....

 

1830 $2 1/2 Templeton Reid Quarter Eagle MS61 NGC. K-1, R.6. Templeton Reid is the earliest and one of the most enigmatic figures associated with so-called Territorial gold coinage of the United States. The Territorial coinage is sometimes called private or pioneer gold (most of the circulating issues were gold with a wide variety of alloys, and there were a few copper trial strikes). There is obviously some overlap and discontinuity from one term to the other. In general, the Territorial gold issues include the 1830s-1850s issues of Reid and the Bechtler family in Georgia and North Carolina; the 1849-1855 California gold issues; the 1849-1860 Mormon gold coinage in Utah or the "State of Deseret"; the 1849 Oregon Exchange Beaver coins; and the 1860-1861 Colorado gold pieces. "Private" gold coinage would include issues such as the famous Brasher doubloons, which were private issues, but certainly not Territorial--Brasher was a New York City metalsmith. While the California pieces are collected as Territorials, California actually became a state on Sept. 9, 1850, and many numismatists consider at least the U.S. Assay Office of Gold issues, with good reason, to be Federally authorized issues from a California branch mint.
In 1799 a young man named Conrad Reed discovered a 17-pound gold nugget in a creek on the family farm in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. The family and a local silversmith failed to recognize the alloy, and the nugget was used as a doorstop for three years until 1802, when its intrinsic value was realized, and setting off the nation's first gold rush.
The first Georgia gold was discovered by Benjamin Reed in 1828 near Dahlonega. (The name "Dahlonega" comes from the Cherokee words for "yellow money.") The glittering yellow metal caused an influx of thousands of miners that came to be known as "The Intrusion" by native tribes.
Templeton Reid had been active in Milledgeville, Georgia--then the state capital-- as early as 1811, producing cotton gins and later going into clock- and watch-repairing and rifle-making. After the discovery of gold in North Georgia, Reid in 1830 moved to Gainesville, Georgia (close to Dahlonega), and announced his intent to produce local gold coins as a more convenient medium of commerce than the unassayed gold dust. Reid established his private mint a full eight years before the U.S. Mint in 1838 opened branches in Dahlonega, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and New Orleans.
Reid struck two and a half, five, and ten dollar gold pieces in the three-month period from mid-July through mid-October 1830. On July 24, 1830, the Southern Recorder, a local newspaper, commented that Reid had by that date struck some $1,500 in gold (some pieces were possibly made in Milledgeville before his move to Gainesville). Reid told the newspaper that the gold coins, which he may have believed to be of nearly pure gold, would be accepted at face value (or "par") at local banks and merchants.
Reid, who was either naïve or a charlatan--the jury is still out on that decision--apparently made his coins from local gold as mined, with the native metal containing considerable amounts of silver, tin, and copper. In a story familiar to later students of the California Gold Rush, the Reid coinage was submitted to an assay at the Mint, which revealed it to be worth only $9.38, or more than 6% below face value. The anonymous submitter of the piece published his results in the Georgia Journal, much as James King of William (although not anonymously) would do in California in 1851, effectively putting an end to the currency of the Reid gold pieces.
Most of the Reid coins were apparently melted, which together with the small original production apparently accounts for their extreme rarity today. Uncirculated examples are incredibly rare. The spectacular Garrett Collection contained two examples of the Templeton Reid gold, and yet the quarter eagle graded only Very Fine, the half eagle Extremely Fine.
NGC and PCGS combined have certified only 14 Templeton Reid quarter eagles in all grades. NGC has certified only three Templeton Reids in Mint State, two MS61s and an MS62 Prooflike. While it is always difficult to assess just how many examples may be known of any issue, it is fairly certain that the two MS61 coins that have been graded by NGC are the same piece that was resubmitted. (It is even possible that the PCGS coin and the two MS61s are all the same coin, making a total of two Uncirculated specimens certified.)
Unlike most Templeton Reid pieces known, this particular example is well centered. Complete denticles are seen around each side, and the outer circle on the reverse (surrounding GEORGIA GOLD) is perfectly centered. This is especially surprising when one considers the primitive conditions under which these pieces were produced. Magnification reveals a number of small, but individually insignificant abrasions on each side, none of which are especially useful as pedigree identifiers. The orange-gold surfaces show a pronounced outline of reddish patina around the devices, undoubtedly from the higher copper alloy found in native Georgia gold.
Templeton Reid continued to fiddle with and offer cotton gins in his later life. But despite his brief and abortive attempt at producing Georgia gold, he was not quite finished as a minter. There are two enigmatic 1849-dated Templeton Reid pieces known, apparently produced from California gold, although it is unknown if Reid ever went to California. One, a twenty-five dollar piece, was stolen from the Mint Cabinet on Aug. 16, 1858, and never recovered. The second, a unique ten dollar piece reading CALIFORNIA GOLD, is in the Smithsonian Institution, and struck copies exist of both pieces in various metals. Listed on page 356 of the 2009 Guide Book. (#10320)

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