1830 $2 1/2 Templeton Reid Quarter Eagle AU50 PCGS. K-1, R.6. ...

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1830 Templeton Reid Quarter Eagle, AU50
Rare Georgia Gold Rush Issue
First Territorial Gold Minter

1830 $2 1/2 Templeton Reid Quarter Eagle AU50 PCGS. K-1, R.6. Most Americans associate the words "Gold Rush" with the massive immigration to California that followed the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848. However, the first major gold rush in the United States took place much earlier, in southern Appalachia in the 1820s and 1830s. The first discovery of gold in the area actually took place in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1799, when 12-year-old Conrad Reed found a huge 17-pound nugget in Little Meadow Creek, near Charlotte. Unfortunately, the significance of his find was not recognized at the time, and the Reed family used the nugget as a door stop for several years before someone apprised them of its value. Even then, the Reeds reportedly sold the massive nugget for a song, receiving only $3.50 for their prize. More finds followed sporadically over the years, but the region was inaccessible and news of the potential bonanza was slow to reach the rest of the country. It was not until the late 1820s that large scale mining operations began in Georgia and the Carolinas, and the first documented gold mine in Georgia was reportedly established in 1829. When the news finally spread, the reaction was predictably dramatic and the region was inundated by a flood of prospectors and fortune seekers. Benjamin Parks, a North Carolina native who was one of the earliest prospectors in the Dahlonega area, reminisced in the Atlanta Constitution in 1894:

"The news got abroad, and such excitement you never saw. It seemed within a few days as if the whole world must have heard of it, for men came from every state I had ever heard of. They came afoot, on horseback and in wagons, acting more like crazy men than anything else. All the way from where Dahlonega now stands to Nuckollsville there were men panning out of the branches and making holes in the hillocks."

The influx of miners created chaos in the local economy, which had been conducted on the barter system in earlier times. A practical medium of exchange was desperately needed, as there was virtually no circulating federal currency in the region at the time. Into this vortex stepped an enigmatic man of German ancestry named Templeton Reid, who had earlier established himself as a jeweler, watchmaker, gunsmith, and manufacturer of cotton gins in Milledgeville, Georgia. By July 1830, Reid had set up a mint and commenced production of gold coins in two and a half, five, and ten dollar denominations. While several private mints had been established in colonial times, and Ephraim Brasher had produced his famous gold doubloons in 1787, Reid's coins were the first privately issued circulating gold coins manufactured since the ratification of the Constitution. His coinage set an important precedent for later generations of private minters, who would flourish in the much larger California Gold Rush two decades later. Templeton Reid is rightly regarded as the father of the Territorial gold series.

Fort Worth coin dealer B. Max Mehl offered the following description of a Templeton Reid quarter eagle in lot 404 of his B.W. Smith catalog in May of 1915:

"1830 $2.50 Obverse T. REID ASSAYER; in center, 2.50. Rev. GEORGIA GOLD; the date, 1830, in center all within a circle. Milled edge. The lower portion of both the obverse and the reverse not struck as bold as the rest of the coin but is strictly fine for the coin. Excessively rare. One of the rarest of all Pioneer gold coins. The first to be offered in several years. Record about $400."

Mehl's record of $400 was a formidable price for a coin in 1915. The current price realized for an 1830 Templeton Reid quarter eagle is $329,000, brought by the AU58 PCGS example in the ANA National Money Show in August 2013.

Reid only struck coins for a few months, from July to October of 1830. The coins were initially well-received, but the problems with public confidence and acceptance of the coins that faced all private minters soon developed. Despite his claim to be an assayer, Reid did no chemical refining of the raw gold dust he used to strike his coins. He just separated the gold from the sand and debris that the typical deposit contained. He did not realize that the remaining ore was alloyed with silver, tin, and trace elements. As a result, his quarter eagles were found to have an intrinsic value of only $2.27 when the correct fineness of the gold was used to calculate their value. Opposition to the coins became quite vocal in the local newspapers once their low gold content became known. Faced with public resentment and lack of confidence in his coins, Reid closed his coinage operations by late fall of 1830.

Estimates of Reid's mintage totals vary widely. Dr. Dexter Seymour, who studied Reid's coinage extensively, estimates his output to be between 1,500 and 1,600 coins, including all denominations, for a face value of approximately $7,000. Estimates in contemporary newspaper accounts are much higher, including figures as high as $200,000 in face value. What can be said with certainty is that few examples were saved for numismatic purposes and the coins are rare in all grades today. PCGS and NGC have combined to certify a total of 15 examples in all grades, with an unknown number of resubmissions and crossovers (3/14). Our roster below, compiled with the help of numismatic researchers Wayne Burt and Saul Teichman, lists 23 distinct examples, with five coins in institutional collections and one whose location is unknown since its theft in the 1960s.

The present coin is an attractive AU piece, with well-detailed design elements that show a touch of the typical softness on the lower inscriptions on both sides. The pleasing orange-gold surfaces retain traces of original mint luster and show the expected number of minor abrasions for the grade. A thin scratch through the upper-left curve of the G in GOLD acts as a pedigree marker. This coin will be a welcome addition to a fine collection of Territorial gold. Housed in a green label holder. Listed on page 375 of the 2014 Guide Book. Population: 3 in 50, 3 finer (3/14).

Roster of 1830 Templeton Reid Quarter Eagles
1. MS62 Prooflike NGC. Waldo Newcomer (exhibited at the 1916 ANA Convention); B. Max Mehl, circa 1931; F.C.C. Boyd; Abner Kreisberg FPL (4/1971); Kreisberg FPL (4/1972); John A. Beck Collection, Part II (Kreisberg, 2/1976), lot 606; private collection.
2. MS61 NGC. Charles Gregory Collection (S.H. Chapman, 6/1916), lot 2283; exhibited at the 1914 ANS Exhibition; Arthur C. Nygren Collection (Henry Chapman, 4/1924), lot 20; Virgil Brand (Brand Journal number 130847); Brand Estate; Great American Collection (J.C. Morgenthau, 11/1933), lot 236; James Lawson; ANA Convention Auction (Numismatic Galleries, 8/1947), lot 462; Public Auction Sale (Quality Sales, 9/1973), lot 1366; Stanislaw Herstal Collection (Bowers and Ruddy, 2/1974), lot 803; A-Mark Coin Co. in August 1976; Jim Leeuw; Lighthouse Collection (Stack's, 6/1978), lot 677; Coles Collection (Stack's, 10/1983), lot 193; Charles Michaels; Archangel Collection (Stack's, 11/2006), lot 1059, realized $299,000; Tom Jones; Baltimore Signature (Heritage, 7/2008), lot 1859, where it realized $277,500
3. MS61 NGC. Dewitt Smith; Virgil Brand in 1908 (Brand Journal number 47027); Armin Brand (3/1/1945); B.G. Johnson; Jacob Shapiro (a.k.a. J.F. Bell); Hollinbeck Stamp & Coin Co. 1946 FPL; Pennsylvania Collection (Hollinbeck, 2/1947), lot 2816; Hancock & Harwell; private collection; Duke's Creek Collection, Mid-American Rare Coin Company; Chestatee Collection.
4. MS60 PCGS. Clifford-Kagin Collection.
5. AU58 PCGS. ANA Convention Auction (Jess Peters, 8/1973), lot 940; Jack Klausen; Dr. Dexter Seymour Collection; ANA National Money Show (Stack's Bowers, 5/2013), lot 1204, realized $329,000.
6. AU55 PCGS. Lichtenfels-Linder Collections (Kreisberg-Schulman, 2/1961), lot 918; Public Auction Sale (Quality Sales, 6/1970), lot 2004; Gainesborough Collection (Quality Sales, 9/1980), lot 1693; Ed Milas; Hancock & Harwell; Duke's Creek Collection; Chicago ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/1999), lot 7706; Donald Kagin.
7. AU55 PCGS. Coles Collection (Stack's, 10/1983), lot 194; Hancock & Harwell; Gainesville Collection; Bently Collection (Heritage, 3/2014), lot 30547.
8. AU55. Hancock & Harwell; Peach State Collection; Donald Kagin (8/2006); Spectrum Numismatics.
9. AU50 PCGS. Boston ANA Convention, Ben Levin; Robert Bass; Donald Kagin; Robert Rhue; Paul Padget; Stuart Levine; The present coin.
10. XF40. Arnold and Romisa Collections (Bowers and Merena, 9/1984), lot 288; Anthony Terranova; Auction '87 (Stack's, 7/1987), lot 986; Anthony Terranova; Hancock & Harwell; Donald Kagin.
11. XF. Abner Kreisberg in 1956 and 1974; Leo Young at the 1976 ANA Convention; Public Auction Sale (Stack's, 9/1981), lot 409.
12. XF. Charles Williams; Numismatic Gallery Monthly FPL (1/1951); Lammot duPont; Willis duPont; stolen in 1967, present location unknown.
13. VF35 PCGS. Sawyer family in the 19th century; Cloisters Museum Auction (Christie's, 9/1991), lot 524; Anthony Terranova; Public Auction Sale (Stack's, 3/1994), lot 1686; North Georgia Collection / FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/1999), lot 7826; Samuel J. Berngard Collection (Stack's, 7/2008), lot 2178.
14. VF30. Public Auction Sale (Stack's, 2/1978), lot 1267; New York ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/1997), lot 5705; Anthony Terranova.
15. VF30. Captain Andrew C. Zabriskie (Henry Chapman, 6/1909), lot 437; Colonel James W. Ellsworth; John Work Garrett, via Wayte Raymond and Knoedler Galleries in 1923; Johns Hopkins University; Garrett Collection, Part I (Bowers and Merena, 11/1979), lot 504; Public Auction Sale (Stack's, 9/1981), lot 410; Hancock & Harwell; ANA Convention Auction (Kagin's, 8/1986), lot 2180; FUN Sale (Mid-American, 1/1987), lot 1817; George Elliott.
16. Choice VF. Henry Clifford Collection (Bowers and Ruddy, 3/1982), lot 1; George D. Hatie Collection (Bowers and Merena, 8/1983), lot 2889.
17. VF. House Collection; currently on exhibit at the Dahlonega Gold Museum, Dahlonega, Georgia.
18. VF. Hancock & Harwell; Citizens Bank; Bank of America; Georgia Federal Reserve Bank Collection.
19. VF. Joseph C. Mitchelson; Connecticut State Library.
20. Net VF20, cleaned, repaired. Louis Eliasberg, Sr.; Eliasberg Estate, Eliasberg Collection, Part I (Bowers and Merena, 5/1996), lot 314; Hancock & Harwell; Stearns Collection.
21. G-VG, repaired and cleaned. Duke's Creek Collection.
22. Grade unknown, repaired. Smithsonian Institution, from the Mint Cabinet.
23. VF-XF. "Colonel" E.H.R. Green; Green Estate; B.G. Johnson; Smith & Son; Ruth Green advertised in June 1954 issue of The Numismatist; Stack's; Josiah K. Lilly; Smithsonian Institution.

Additional Appearances
A. Grade unknown. Edgar Adams mentions a specimen in Scott's 26th Sale of 3/1885, but there is no example of the Templeton Reid quarter eagle in that sale. Perhaps he was mistaken about the date of the sale.
B. Grade unknown. King Collection (S.H. & H. Chapman, 4/1892), lot 689.
C. XF. R.C.W. Brock; University of Pennsylvania in 1898.
D. Uncirculated, slight dent. James B. Wilson Sale (Thomas Elder, 10/1908), lot 1174; Virgil Brand in 1909 (Brand Journal number 50748); Brand Estate; Armin Brand.
E. Grade unknown. Jones-Rossman Collections (Elder, 12/1908), lot 526a.
F. Grade unknown. Public Auction Sale (Elder, 6/1914), lot 244.
G. G/VG-Fine. B.W. Smith Collection (B. Max Mehl, 5/1915), lot 404; Elmer Sears Collection (Mehl, 10/1918), lot 65; New Orleans Collection (Mehl, 11/1919), lot 810; Judge Charles W. Slack Collection (Mehl, 5/1925), lot 71.
H. Grade unknown. Public Auction Sale (S.H. Chapman, 6/1917), lot 353.
I. Grade unknown. St. Louis Stamp & Coin Company; Virgil Brand in 1919 (Brand Journal number 92186).
J. XF. Arthur C. Nygren Collection (Henry Chapman, 4/1924), lot 21.
K. Fine. Arthur C. Nygren Collection (Henry Chapman, 4/1924), lot 22.
L. Grade unknown. Public Auction Sale (Elder, 6/1925), lot 1493.
M. VF. Jacob Shapiro (a.k.a. J.F. Bell); Bell Collection (Stack's, 12/1944), lot 1051.
N. VF. George H. Hall Collection (Stack's, 5/1945), lot 2349.
O. Uncirculated. E.M. Wharton Collection (Stack's, 10/1945), lot 2519.
P. VF. E.M. Wharton Collection (Stack's, 10/1945), lot 2520.
Q. Grade unknown. San Francisco Collection (Stack's, 5/1946), lot 1157.
R. XF. ANA Convention Auction (Numismatic Gallery, 8/1946), lot 1157.
S. VF. Charles Deetz Collection, Part II (Stack's, 11/1946), lot 2023.
T. VF. H.R. Lee Collection (Stack's, 10/1947), lot 1908.
U. Choice VF. Chi-ANA Sale (James Kelly, 8/1956), lot 1824.
V. VF. George O. Walton Collection (Stack's, 10/1963), lot 2179; Gibson Collection (Stack's, 11/1974), lot 153; RARCOA.
W. VF, plugged. Dr. Conway Bolt Collection (Stack's, 5/1966), lot 1124.
X. XF. Public Auction Sale (Lester Merkin, 9/1967), lot 460; Public Auction Sale (Merkin, 9/1970), lot 859.
Y. VF30. Alex Shuford Collection (Abe Kosoff, 5/1968), lot 2256.
From The Riverboat Collection.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 2B8W, PCGS# 10320, Greysheet# 11874)

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