Gold Market Insights

Guide to Collecting Period II California Fractional Gold Pieces.

Many of the collectors that I deal with think that California Fractional Gold is an undervalued area within United States rare coins (as long as one deals with a credible dealer) and nice type sets could actually benefit almost any type of Federal Issue collection. One thing is for certain, there are many “steals” that can still be made when someone actively pursues putting together a nice Period II type set of any magnitude. Period 2 Issues The coins labeled as Period Two issues bear dates from 1859 to 1882. Unlike the earlier coins, these pieces are typically underweight and contain less than their stated face value in gold.

The following suggestions are meant to shed some light on some very basic approaches to accumulating a desirable Period II Cal Gold:

First off, any set has to have examples in some format from the round quarters, octagonal quarters, round half dollars, octagonal half dollars, round dollars and octagonal dollars. There are several sets that come to mind and they are based off an enormous chart that lists all the denominations of Period II Cal Gold, the makers, and each type produced by each maker. This list should be used as a foundation for constructing collecting methods:

Round Quarters:

  1. Frontier, Deviercy & Co. (1853-54) Dated Reverses: BG-800-BG-801
  2. Frontier & Co. (1864-71)
    1. Dated Reverse: BG- 802 – BG-812
    2. Undated Reverse: BG-813
  3. Frontier & Bellemere (1871-75)
    1. Undated Reverses: BG-814- BG-817
    2. Washington Head: BG-818 (Great Type Coin)
  4. Robert B. Gray & Co. (1858-71)
    1. Unique Trial Piece w/Octagonal dies: BG-818a (optional)
    2. Dated Reverses: BG-819 – BG-833
    3. Transitional Issue: BG-834
    4. Undated Reverses: BG-835-BG-840
  5. California Jewelry Co.: BG-841
  6. Mavericks; Herman J. Brand
    1. Head of ’60-’70: BG-842-BG-846
    2. Small Indian Heads: BG-847-BG-853A
    3. Baby Heads: BG-854-BG-856
  7. Hershfield & Mitchell (Great Issuer): BG-856A-BG-865
  8. Unknown Maker G (Maverick): BG-866
  9. Unknown Maker C “Goofy Head”: BG-867
  10. C.F. Mohrig, San Francisco:
    1. Lg. Indian Heads With Cal: BG-868-BG-879
    2. Lg. Indian Heads No Cal: BG-880- BG-887
    3. Backdated Issues: BG-888-BG-891
  11. Nast, Greenzweig & Co. “Young’s Head”: BG-892

Octagonal Quarters:

  1. Frontier, Deviercy & Co. (1853-64) Dated Reverses: BG-701-BG-705
  2. Frontier & Co. Dated Reverses (1864-71): BG-706-BG-720
  3. Frontier & Bellemere (1871-75)
    1. Transitional Issue, both sides dated: BG-721
    2. Undated Stock Reverse: BG-721A (unique & optional)
    3. Washington Heads: BG-722-BG-724
    4. Lg. Liberty Heads: BG-725-BG-728
  4. Robert B. Gray & Co. (1858-71)
    1. Dated Reverses: BG-729-BG-755 (would need a “fraction” and a “fraction-in-shield” example)
    2. Undated Stock Reverses: BG-756-767
  5. California Jewelry Co. Undated Rev.’s: BG-768-BG-771
  6. Mavericks by Herman J. Brand
    1. Sm. Head of ’60-’69: BG-772-BG-777
    2. Baby Heads: BG-778-BG780
    3. Sm. Indian Heads: BG-781-BG-788
  7. Unknown Maker C “Goofy Head” : BG-789 (Great type coin)
  8. C.F. Mohrig, San Francisco
    1. Lg. Indian Heads With Cal: BG-790-BG799
    2. Lg. Indian Heads No Cal: BG-799A-BG-799U
  9. F.H. Noble “Aztec Heads” : BG-799W-BG-799Y
  10. Unknown Maker D: BG-799Z (Very Rare)
  11. Unknown Maker E: BG-799AA (Very Rare)
  12. Unknown Maker F: BG-799BB (Very Rare)
  13. Nast, Greenzweig & Co. “Young Indian Head”: BG-799CC

Round Half Dollars

  1. Frontier, Deviercy & Co. (1853-64): BG-1001-BG-1004
  2. Frontier & Co. (1864-72): BG-1005-BG-1011
  3. Frontier & Bellemere (1871-75): BG-1012-BG-1013
  4. Robert B. Gray & Co. (1858-’71):
    1. Dated Reverses: BG-1014
    2. Sm. Heads: BG-1015-BG-1016
    3. G below head: BG-1017-BG-1022
    4. Undated Stock Reverses: BG-1023-BG-1030
  5. California Jewelry Co.: BG-1028-BG-1030
  6. Herman J. Brand “Mavericks”:
    1. Sm. Heads, No Star above HALF: BG-1031-BG-1035
    2. Sm. Indian Heads, fraction reverses: BG-1036-BG-1038
    3. “Baby Heads” : BG-1039-BG-1040
  7. Hershfield & Mitchell: BG-1041-BG-1046
  8. Uknown Maker C Maverick “Goofy Head”: BG-1047
  9. C.F. Mohrig
    1. Lg. Indian Heads, With Cal: BG-1048-BG-1063
    2. Lg. Indian Heads, No Cal: BG-1064-BG-1070
    3. Backdated Issues: BG-1071-BG-1076
  10. Nast, Greenweig & Co. “Young Head”: BG-1077
  11. Unknown Maker II “Broad Head”: BG-1078-BG-1079 (use to classified as Kroll pieces)

Octagonal Half Dollars

  1. Frontier, Deviercy & Co. (1853-64): BG-901-BG-902
  2. Frontier & Co. (1865-72): BG-903-BG-912
  3. Frontier & Bellemere (1872-75): BG-913-BG-915
  4. Robert B. Gray & Co. (1858-71):
    1. Dated Reverses: BG-916-BG-918
    2. “Cal Gold” above value: BG-919-BG-920
    3. “Cal Gold” omitted: BG-921
    4. Undated Stock reverses: BG-922-BG-925
  5. California Jewelry Co.: BG-926-BG-927
  6. Herman J. Brand “Mavericks”
    1. 1864-70 Heads, no star above HALF: BG-928-BG-929
    2. Fraction Reverses: BG-930-BG-931
    3. “Baby Heads”: BG-932
    4. Sm. Indian Heads: BG-933-BG-935
  7. Unknown Maker C “Goofy Head”: BG-936
  8. C.F. Mohrig:
    1. Lg. Indian Heads With Cal: BG-937-BG952-B
    2. Lg. Indian Heads Without Cal: BG-953-BG-957
    3. Backdated Issues: BG-958-BG-963
  9. Unknown Maker D “Crude Liberty Head” : BG-964
  10. Unknown Maker F “Young Indian Head”: BG-965-BG-965A
  11. Nast, Greenzweig & Co. “Young Head” : BG-966

Round Dollars

  1. Frontier & Co. (1864-72): BG-1201
  2. Roberty B. Gray (1858-71):
    1. Dated Reverse: BG-1202
    2. Undated Reverse: BG-1203-1204
  3. Unknown Maker C Maverick “Goofy Head” : BG-1205
  4. C.F. Mohrig Lg. Indian Head: BG-1206-1208

Octagonal Dollars

  1. Frontier, Deviercy & Co. (1853-64): BG-1101-1103
  2. Frontier & Co. (1864-72): BG-1104
  3. Robert B. Gray (1858-71):
    1. Necklace bust: BG-1105-BG-1109
    2. Dated Reverse: BG-1107-BG-1108
    3. Undated Stock reverses: BG-1109
  4. Herman J. Brand, Mavericks:
    1. Sm. Liberty Heads: BG-1110-BG-1111
    2. Sm. Indian Heads With Cal: BG-1112-BG-1113
    3. Sm. Indian Heads Without Cal: BG-1114-BG-1116
    4. Liberty “Baby Heads”= BG-1117-BG-1117A
  5. Unknown Maker C “Goofy Head”: BG-1118
  6. C.F. Mohrig Lg. Indian Heads: BG-1119-BG-1129

Complete Maker and Variety Set: This set would have a total of approximately 96 pieces (depending on the acquisition on unique pieces) and would be quite thorough. It would entail obtaining an example of every major design type from every known Maker of Period II California Fractional gold. This set would be quite an undertaking and is the next bext thing to completing a complete Period II collection. I would suggest that I one were to approach this method, they should collect the coins in the Mint State 62 to Mint State 63 grades all the way through. One area where the grade line might want to be altered would be in the Period II Round Dollars. Round dollars, whether Period I or Period II are always hard to find, expensive and generally come in lower grades.

Short Maker Set: This set would involve purchasing one example of each Maker. I would make sure to stick with one denomination so that there is uniformity of coin size in the set. This set would cut down on the number of coins to find and the collector would not have to find every major variety made by every Maker. In other words, let’s say you decided to do a set like this in the dollars (which would be my choice), when it came time to purchase a piece from Robert B. Gray, you would simply find a Necklace bust, Dated reverse piece OR and Undated reverse piece but you would not need to buy one of each.

Distinctive Type Set: Within Period II Cal Gold, as well as Period I, there are distinctive visual type coins that could be put together for a nice set. Since the number of coins in this set would be minimal, the collector should attempt to find high grade and high-quality examples. The coins that you would need to complete this set are as follows:

  • Liberty Head
  • Indian Head
  • “Washington” Head
  • “Baby Head”
  • Goofy Head
  • Crude Liberty Head
  • Young Indian Head
  • Hershfield Mitchell Issue
  • Wedge Border Issue (BG-1035)
  • Broad Head (BG-1078-1079)
  • Necklace Bust (only made in the dollars)

These types come in both round and octagonal pieces and it is up to each individual collector how they would like to pursue this set. One could have either an 11 piece set or a 22 piece set.

Common Type Set: This would be the simplest type set to complete and it would involve obtaining the following coins:

  • Liberty Head 25c
  • Indian Head 25c
  • Liberty Head 50c
  • Indian Head 50c
  • Liberty Head $1
  • Indian head $1

To make this set a little juicier I would turn it into a 12-piece collection by having a round and octagonal example of each. Furthermore, I would try to collect Rarity-6+ examples since the set is so short.

These are just a few examples of collections that one could put together. The fascinating part about California Fractional Gold is how collectable it is. One could think of all sorts of cool sets to put together.

Anyone interested in beginning one of the above sets or discussing another approach should contact me using the contact information found on my site. I have helped many individuals in constructing their Cal Gold sets and always look forward to starting new ones.