Mint Unveiled (Part 1)

One of the most frustrating things about dealing with pioneer gold coins is the almost complete lack of records for most private mints. Contemporary newspaper accounts provide much of what we know about these companies. In most cases, these articles were written by people more concerned about whether local merchants and bankers would accept the coins in question than they were with the stories of the people striking them. 

A few weeks ago, I learned that rare-book dealer James E. Arsenault had discovered several receipt books from California coiners Dubosq & Company. To the best of my knowledge, this trio of ledgers represents the only documentation in private hands. Their miraculous survival offers a glimpse into the inner workings of one of the 13 private companies known to have struck coins during the California Gold Rush and puts to rest a mystery surrounding the firm’s operations.

Dubosq & Company

Dubosq & Company was formed in early 1849 by Theodore Dubosq Sr., a Philadelphia jeweler; his son Theodore Jr.; and Theodore Sr.’s father, Henry A. Dubosq. The trio were recorded as passengers aboard the ship Grey Eagle in the January 19, 1849, issue of Philadelphia’s Public Ledger. It states, “Mr. Theodore Dubosq, Sr., jeweler, has with him complete apparatus for smelting and coining gold by stamping it with a private mark, to establish its correct value, and thus afford greater convenience for dealing in the products of the mines.” On May 31, the Weekly Alta California reported, “We learn also that Mr. Theodore Dubosq, a jeweler from Philadelphia, who recently arrived in the Grey Eagle, has brought with him the necessary machinery for striking private coin.”

Despite Dubosq’s arrival in San Francisco with minting equipment and dies when no other private coiners were active in the city, gold Dubosq & Company pieces are unknown today. Theodore Jr. sold his dies and minting equipment, returning to Philadelphia in late 1849 or early 1850. The receipt book records: 

Received March 18—1850 of Theodore Dubosq Sixteen Hundred Ninety-Eight Dollars 47/100 which with the gold formerly received from him is accepted in full for my claim for goods personally furnished and for any claim I had as a partner with said Theodore in the California adventure and all connection between us in that association is declared ended and void…  Henry Dubosq.

Another California Adventure

Although the Dubosq family’s first “California adventure” ended abruptly, Theodore Jr. had already begun preparations for another trip west. The receipt books show the purchases of a screw press from mechanic A.L. Archambault, a “drawing banch” [draw bench] from watchmaker Celestin Jacot, and a 3-inch rolling mill from manufacturer Jacob Long. On April 19, Dubosq gave his associate Joseph Barnet “Four Hundred & Fifty Dollars for the purpose of procuring a ticket for his passage to California on board the steamship sailing on the 15th of May from New York.” 

On May 31, 1850, the Lancaster Examiner reproduced a letter from Panama that describes “Mr. Dubosq, Barnet from Philadelphia, myself and four others had agreed to go up the river in company, and as Mr. D had been over the route before, he was appointed to engage the boat.” Three weeks later, Dubosq arrived in San Francisco aboard the steamship Almira, ready for another California adventure.

Next month, I’ll detail Dubosq & Company’s ledgers, which confirm a direct connection between the firm and the United States Mint.

A version of this article appears in the December 2024 issue of The Numismatist (money.org).