1861 CLARK, GRUBER & CO.
$2-1/2 

PCGS No: 10139

Rarity:  

Images courtesy of Superior Galleries

Varieties (2):
Kagin 5 
Kagin 5a

Recent appearances:
NGC MS-61 (illustrated above).  Ex - Superior Galleries' "Pre-Long Beach Sale" May 27-29, 2001, Lot 4252, where it was described as follows: "1861 Clark, Gruber and Company. $2.50 Gold. NGC graded Mint State 61. Lustrous and well struck at the peripheries, though less firmly impressed in the centers as is typical with this rare issue. Several of Liberty's hair curls are indistinct, while on the reverse the eagle's left half and neck also lack some of their detail. The color is bright golden yellow from localized impurities in the alloy.  A gold rush developed in Colorado beginning in 1858. Though not experiencing the same breadth of fervor as California's a decade earlier, nevertheless it drew thousands and a private mint, that of Gruber and Company, began striking coins in 1860 and again in 1861. Modeled upon the federal designs, the Liberty coronet carries the inscription PIKES PEAK instead of the more traditional LIBERTY. Pike's Peak, named after Zebulon Pike who plodded through the region back in 1806 and made note of a large rocky outcrop that now bears his name, is situated about 70 miles south of Denver near the modern berg of Colorado Springs."

Sources and/or recommended reading:
"Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia Of U.S. And Colonial Coins" by Walter Breen

"Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States" by Donald H. Kagin