The E-Sylum:  Volume 9, Number 29, July 16, 2006, Article 26

PIONEER GOLD DIE IMAGES AND LOT DESCRIPTIONS ONLINE

As mentioned last week, the August 11 auction by American Numismatic
Rarities will include a pair of previously unpublished dies for
territorial coins struck in Colorado.  The lot descriptions and die
images are now available online.

"As noted by Kagin, "Conway ceased operations sometimes before the
end of the year [i.e. 1861]." The dies apparently were preserved ?
the obverse and reverse of both the $10 and $2.50 denominations made
it to the Colorado Historical Society about the turn of the 20th
century. The reverse die, with "Pikes Peak Five Dollars" around a
fancy 5, also now resides in the Colorado Historical Society. Those
dies, pictured in the Kagin book on p. 320, have been well known to
the numismatic community for years, and many have asked what ever
became of the other $5 die. As it turns out, the die remained in
private hands and was only sold into the marketplace in 2005. This
is its first ever auction appearance"

Lot 1142: (1861) J.J. Conway & Co. Original obverse die for $5
gold coins.
Full Story

"A completely new discovery, but one that answers a long-standing
question in Colorado territorial gold circles: what die matched
the 1862-dated Liberty Head $5 obverse die now in the collection
of the Colorado Historical Society? That die, depicted in the Kagin
book on p. 320 with several dies for J.J, Conway & Co. coins, is
clearly different from the Conway dies in size and style, not to
mention date, but it had never been satisfactorily attributed.

The present unique artifact from the Colorado Gold Rush, long
held privately in the same hands as the Conway $5 die in this
sale, introduces a brand-new manufacturer of Colorado gold coins
to numismatists: the firm of P. and R.R. Smith & Co. The "Col. Ter."
seen at the base of this die positively identifies it as a product
of Colorado Territory."

Lot 1143: (1862) Reverse die for P. and R.R. Smith & Co. $5 coin.
Full Story

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization 
promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor 
at this address: whomren@coinlibrary.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum