British Columbia, Gold 1862 $20 Pattern, Reeded Edge, Bc-4, ...

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1862 British Columbia $20 Gold Pattern Rarity from the Complete Belzberg Set

British Columbia, Gold 1862 $20 Pattern, Reeded Edge, Bc-4, SPECIMEN 60 PCGS. SPECIMEN 60 ICCS. Ex: Brand-Norweb Collections. Greenish-gold coloration with light hairlines. In our opinion, a tad conservatively graded by both services. This is the finest of the five surviving examples. We can list the pedigree of the five known pieces as follows: (1) the Norweb-Belzberg piece (this coin); (2) the John Jay Pittman Collection coin; (3) the British Museum; (4) the British Columbia Archives; and (5) the Canadian Bank of Commerce. As one can readily see, three of the five pieces are permanently impounded.

The 1862 British Columbia pieces are the rarest North American pattern pioneer gold coins. General thinking is that only five to ten sets of the 10 and 20 Dollar were designed, and struck in silver, by Albrecht Kuner in 1862. Kuner was a well-known designer of U.S. Territorial gold coins and an interesting figure in early American numismatic history. He was originally a goldsmith from Bavaria, who emigrated to the United States in 1835. In 1849 he left New York for the gold fields of California and settled in San Francisco; shortly after his arrival, he joined Moffat and Company as their chief engraver. Kuner is known for his designs of: (1) the Norris, Gregg, and Norris $5; the 1849 and 1850 $10 and $20 Dollar pieces of Moffat and Company; the Schultz and Company $5 of 1851; the Dunbar and Company $5 of 1851; the Baldwin and Company $5, $10, and $20 of 1850 and 1851; and an octagonal $50 with the denomination "50 Dolls."

The British Columbia authorities, due to a severe shortage of hard currency, commissioned the design and striking of the 10 and 20 Dollar pieces and ordered the dies from a Mr. Wagner of Vanderslices Silver Manufactory. The dies were engraved for Vanderslices by Kuner. Before the dies were shipped to British Columbia, Kuner struck several pieces in silver, which were sent to British Columbia along with the dies. The Government, after acquiring the dies, struck several of each denomination in gold. Unfortunately, Kuner's original wax impressions were destroyed in the San Francisco fire of 1906.

The sample gold coins were struck with the intention of delivering them to the International Exhibition being held in London. The B.C. Governor Douglas would not allow the coins to be sent, but he finally relented under pressure from the Treasurer of B.C., William Gosset. Douglas agreed to allow (18) 10 Dollar coins and (10) 20 Dollar coins to be produced and sent to the exhibition, and then be melted down for bullion. Treasurer Gosset was allowed to keep two specimens as Mint souvenirs. The few surviving pieces were probably acquired by senior members of the government as souvenirs. These issues must be considered patterns, as British Columbia had not received permission from the Crown to strike coins.

The obverse of each coin has a central Crown surrounded by the legend GOVERNMENT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA. The reverse has the denomination 10 DOLLARS (or 20 DOLLARS) and the date 1862 within an open wreath.

A detailed description of the other three Belzberg Set coins is as follows:
1) 1862 Reeded Edge Silver 10 dollars SPECIMEN 58 PCGS. SPECIMEN 55 ICCS, Charlton BC-1. Ex: John Jay Pittman Collection. Slightly mishandled with gold, violet, and blue-green toning. Five pieces are thought to exist.
(2) 1862 Reeded Edge Silver 20 Dollars SPECIMEN 61 PCGS. Charlton BC-2. Ex: Norweb Collection. Toned in shades of blue, gold, and gray. It appears that there are four surviving examples of this issue.
(3) 1862 Reeded Edge Gold 10 Dollars SPECIMEN 62 PCGS. SPECIMEN 62 ICCS. BC-3. Ex: Virgil Brand Collection. Greenish-gold patina with light hairlines. We can trace only three pieces of this great rarity, with two pieces housed in permanent collections. This is the only example that we can trace that is available to the numismatic community and undoubtedly the rarest of the four British Columbia Issues. Virgil Brand acquired this piece in 1919 and it is the Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Ellis coin.
(4) THIS COIN

All four coins are fully prooflike with bold definition. The overall quality is far superior to most of the U.S. Territorial coin coins produced in the 1840s and 1850s.

We can find no previous offering of the complete four-piece British Columbia set and it will undoubtedly be many years (if ever) before we see all four of these numismatic treasures offered in one sale.

Coin Index Numbers: (PCGS# 33771)

View all of [The Sid & Alicia Belzberg Collection of Canadian Coinage ]

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