Expert: PAPAJACK - 9/21/2008

Question
My Great-grandfather had a coin collection of which one is, I think, of
particular note.  It is a $20.00 gold coin dated 1855.  It has a liberty head
encircled with 13 stars and "1855" at the bottom.  The reverse has a spread-
winged eagle with a shield on its chest and arrows clutched in its talons.  The
words "SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA" appear across its upper arc while
"TWENTY DOL." appears across the lower arc.  A banner above the eagle's
head contains "900 THOUS.".

My mother would like to sell it and I am curious as to what a ballpark worth
would be on it just as an assurance against, perhaps, less than scrupulous
dealers.

Thank you for your time.

Kevin

Answer
Hello Kevin,                           

You are describing a territorial gold coin. This is rare and would have to be authenticated by an expert in the field. There were many reproductions made due to the rarity of the piece.

An 1855 $20 Wass Molitor Twenty Dollar gold realized over 30,000 at an auction last year. It is believed that less than 30 examples survive for this issue.

After the Branch Mint at San Francisco opened its doors in April 1854, very few additional private gold coins were minted in California. In fact, only the Wass, Molitor and Kellogg firms continued to produced California gold coinage after 1853. The Kellogg $20 coins and the Wass, Molitor $50 coins are the most usually seen of these later issues. The 1854 Kellogg $20 gold pieces actually predated the opening of the Federal Mint, with production commencing on February 9, 1854. During this final period of private gold issues, Wass, Molitor & Co. also struck $10 gold coins, although these and the $20 pieces were not issued in large quantities. Wass, Molitor & Co. initially established their business in 1851, with an announcement in the October 14, 1851 edition of the Alta California. Nearly four years later, an announcement appeared in the same paper, dated May 16, 1855, announcing that the firm was again producing gold coins, of $20 and $50 denominations.

If you write me back, give me the nearest large Cities, some postal zip codes and telephone area codes. I will refer you to an expert in your area.

I hope this information helps.

Thank You and Good Luck,

PapaJack