It's not much to look at ... but at least it's very scarce

[BillJones]

 

At the very first show at which I began to build my collection of Type I Gold Dollar, a veteran collector commented that the 1850-D was one of the most difficult dates to find in the series. I began looking for that date and mint mark combination along with the other coins that were on my list and came up with very little. Virtually all of the coins offered had been cleaned, and they were all the usual flat strike.

 

At the last Baltimore show a very well known dealer told me about an 1850-D gold dollar that he had seen in a portion of the bourse floor in EF-45, CAC. On that limited bit of evidence I set out looking for the piece. I finally located it. It had the often found flat strike, and because of that eye appeal was not its strong suit. But it had original surfaces and despite the lack of detail because of the weak strike, it had more than enough mint luster (which does not show in picture, as usual) to qualify for the EF-45 grade. If this piece had been struck with the usual amount of hair detail, even for a Dahlonega mint gold dollar, it might have made AU-50, but alas it didn't.

 

When I started this collection, I never even considered going for the top dog position on the registry. The only ways to do that are to inherit a terrific collection or be prepared to pay 5-figure prices for a number of date and mint mark combinations, which was not part of my plans. So this coin fit into my "collector grade" collection.

 

According to Doug Winter is one of the rarer Type I gold dollars that was issued by the Dahlonega mint. His estimate is that there are only 125 to 175, 1850-D gold dollars known in the VF to Mint State range. Among those 65 to 80 are in EF. So this one fits in my collection, at least for now.

 

[Coindude]

Bill that is a mushy strike but it's quite pleasing as well. I like it very much.

[Walkerfan]

Great story and RARE piece. Congrats!

[physics-fan3.14]

I really like the color and originality of it. Great pickup!

[bsshog40]

Great addition Bill!!

[mumu]

The pleasing surfaces are pleasing.

[AstroTrain]

Very nice addition!

[rrantique]

I really like the color and originality of it. Great pickup!

 

+1 (thumbs u

[JJSingleton]

That is a very nice looking 50-D Dollar. The strike is typical of the date and it is tough to find one with nice color like yours. When collecting Dahlonega much of the charm is in the difficulty they had in minting coins. They were flat out lousy in minting dollars. So for me when assessing D mint dollars my focus is more towards originality than strike. Of course if you should find a well struck dollar with original color jump on it. And be ready to get your wallet out and open it very wide.

[BillJones]

I agree with you, JJ. The question I have why is the 1850-D so badly made while the 1849-D and 1851-D coins so much better? I know those issues are not up to Philadelphia mint standards, they are still better than the 1850-D.

[Coagman]

Nice 1850-D!

[jpcienkus]

Very cool Bill. Another wonderful coin in your collection.

[A.Phillips]

You're right, it's not much to look at if it's common date. Any kind of scarce coins are worth to look at. Nice pickup!

[JJSingleton]

Bill, I can speculate on an answer.

 

First, the mint had a history of roller problems. And soft rollers resulted in poor planchet preparation, especially for the dollars as they are so thin.

 

Second, the positions at the mint were political and it was more important in who one knew than it was in how qualified one was for the position. Due to the election in 1848 there were sweeping changes in personnel the mint in late 1849. The changes included the Superintendent, Assayer, and Coiner. I suspect the low level of expertise contributed to the poor dollars. To demonstrate consider that starting in 1850 the mint received deposits of California gold. Georgia gold averaged 96% pure with 4% silver so the mint did not have to part out the silver, they simply added copper to bring the gold to 900/1000. But CA gold averaged about 85% pure so it became necessary to part the gold and then add back silver and copper to get 900/1000. There were many contacts with Philadelphia in an effort for the staff to figure out how this should be done. This part of the story does suggest a level of incompetence that in my mind can easily be transferred to the coining process as well.

 

This group was short lived at the mint in there was another party change in the 1852 election. The party in power replaced the Superintendent and returned the previous coiner from 1849. And eventually replaced the assayer as well. So by early 1854 the mint once again had a complete new set of officers. That's how it worked in Dahlonega.

[johnny9434]

congrats on a good piece for now. fwiw

[cpm9ball]

Bill, I think the coin looks great, and thanks, JJ, for that bit of information.

 

Chris

[BillJones]

Bill, I think the coin looks great, and thanks, JJ, for that bit of information.

 

Chris

 

Yes, many thanks, JJ. (thumbs u

 

That is a most thought provoking response.

[shirohniichan]

Congrats on finding a coin that fit your collection. I've always been a bigger fan of absolute rarity than condition rarity, so a coin with a total surviving population of under 200 is a find indeed.