NNP Encyclopedia data is provided in cooperation with Whitman Brands, based on catalog data organized by the Greysheet Identification System (GSID).
Entry Details
PCGS Number: 10096 Coin Date: (1834) Denomination (Short): G$5 Denomination (Long): 5 Dollar Gold Variety: C. Bechtler Variety 2: RUTHERFORD, 140 GR, 20C, Dated Obverse, No Initial or Star, K-Transitional Desg: MS Composition: Gold Mintage: Unique Strike Type: Business Coinage Type: Pioneer & Territorial Gold Coinage Years: 1831-1842 Mint Location: Carolina Fineness: 0.8333 Designer: Christopher Bechtler, Sr. Edge: Reeded Obverse Description: 140.G. AUGUST 1. 1834. 20. CARATS. CAROLINA GOLD Reverse Description: 5 DOLLARS. BECHTLER.AT RUTHERFORD General Notes: Struck sometime in late-1834, after the U.S. standard for gold was changed, the Kagin-Transitional half eagle is the earliest $5 struck following Bechtler’s adoption of the 28-grain per dollar standard. It is apparent that Bechtler had not yet settled on a design for the new type. The obverse die, which Bechtler used regularly for every 20-carat half eagle issued through the late 1830s, bears the legend CAROLINA GOLD, as well as the coin’s weight and fineness, and AUGUST 1. 1834., the enaction date for the legislation that changed the composition of U.S. gold coins. The reverse lacks Christopher Bechtler’s first initial and the star typically found before it. This reverse die was barely used; the single example of this variety known today was discovered in 1983 by numismatist Daniel Freeman. PCGS #: 10096
