Collecting California Gold

After writing last month’s column about California fractional gold, I had an interesting conversation with an advanced collector of pioneer gold. He had decided to start collecting fractionals but didn’t know where to begin. The standard reference for the series, California Pioneer Fractional Gold, first published by Walter Breen and Ron Gillio in 1983, lists nearly 600 varieties of these diminutive coins. Without first developing a solid collecting rationale for such a large series, it would be relatively easy to fall into the trap of random accumulation, which can be a costly and frustrating adventure.

A Strong Start

Because his primary interest is the California Gold Rush, we quickly concluded that the issues of Period One (1852-57) would be the focus for his set. These pieces, which were struck to be used as money before and during the earliest years of the San Francisco Mint’s operation, made an ideal companion to his collection of pioneer gold. However, a complete set of Period One fractionals by variety would still include over 140 pieces, many of which are impossibly rare and are virtually indistinguishable from other, more common varieties. Obviously, the right path forward would be some sort of advanced type set. However, I was unable to find a roadmap for a set that did a good job of telling the story of fractional gold as it was used in the 1850s.

Following our phone call, I sat down with a copy of Breen-Gillio and got to work compiling a list of every denomination, shape, issuer, and design type of California fractional believed to have been struck from 1852 to 1857. For anyone unfamiliar with the series, Period One fractionals were issued in three denominations: quarters, halves, and dollars, each of which can be found on round or octagonal planchets. They were issued by the following San Francisco jewelers: Joseph Brothers; Antoine Louis Nouizillet; M. Deriberpie; Moritz Jordan; George Ladd; Frontier, Deviercy & Co.; Gaime, Guillemot & Co.; Nouizillet & Routhier; and Deriberpie & Nouizillet.

Creating an Advanced Set

Most makers issued coins that were an imitation of the United States gold dollar, with the head of Liberty on the obverse, and a wreath and date on the reverse; however, various other designs were also used. These types, including several different eagles and the Arms of California, are the most popularly collected in the series and belong in an advanced type set.

A complete advanced set of every denomination, shape, issuer, and type of Period One fractional contains a total of 32 coins, 26 of which are easily obtainable. Of the remaining six types, three are considered Rarity-7 (4-12 known) and three are Rarity-8 (1-3 known), resulting in an exceptionally challenging but attainable set for an advanced collector.