Varieties:
Kagin 2 - Rare
Kagin Restrike 3 in Gilt Copper - 3 known
Kagin Restrike 3a in Gilt Copper - 1 known
Recent appearances:
PCGS AU-55 (illustrated above).
Ex Heritage
Numismatic Auctions, Inc. January 2000 "FUN" sale, lot
8034
Notes:
Breen estimated the mintage of the Mormon $5 gold coins at 5,340
pieces, but this was purely a guess based on an extrapolation of a 1950
figure of $75,000 for all Mormon gold issues struck between 1848 and
1851.
The obverse abbreviation "G.S.L.C.P.G." stands for
"Great Salt Lake City Pure Gold". However, an assay of
the various Mormon gold issues performed at the United States Mint in
1850 showed the coins to be underweight and debased. The gold for
these coins came not from Salt Lake City, nor anywhere else in Utah, but
from the gold fields of California!
The obverse die was later used (Kagin believes in 1898) to create
uniface impressions in gilt copper (see Kagin 3).
The reverse die was later used (Kagin believes in 1898) to create
uniface impressions in gilt copper (see Kagin 3a).
Sources and/or recommended
reading:
"Private Gold Coins And Patterns Of The United States" by Donald
H. Kagin, PhD
"Walter Breen's
Complete Encyclopedia Of U.S. And Colonial Coins" by Walter Breen
