Shortly after gold was discovered in the Carolinas in 1799 and mining began, the miners started campaigning for a mint facility to be located locally to facilitate the disposal of their ore. By 1830 a total of 56 mines were in operation in North Carolina alone making a U.S. Mint Branch or assay office a necessity. In July 1831, Christopher Bechtler, Sr. answered the miners' cry and began operating his private mint and assay office. Bechtler's honesty and speedy enterprising resulted in a substantial amount of Bechtler coinage being produced between 1831-1840 at his private mint. The Act of March 3, 1835 established branch mints to be built in Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans, but coinage was not produced at any of these facilities until late 1838, contributing to the popularity of the Bechtler coinage. The Bechtlers have the disctinction of being the first to mint gold dollars eighteen years prior to the first U.S. Mint striking at Philadelphia in 1849. Bechtler gold had such a good reputation that during the Civil War, the monetary obligations of the Confederacy were specified as payable in "Bechtler gold". The present example is in an ANACS holder with the following description: "AU Details Net EF 40 Cleaned". Regardless, it is a nice example of this highly respected private mint gold!
$4,025 SOLD
1849 Gold Dollar No L
PCGS MS61
We are offering this No L at a great price-well below the Trends of $1600 for a lesser Mint State 61 coin! Collector's Universe asks $1300! No spots!
Mintage for this Civil War era gold dollar was just 6,200 business strikes making it quite scarce in any grade! PCGS graded and CAC noted-worthy of any collection!
A challenging issue in any grade as there were just 13,771 circulation strikes produced at the Dahlonega, Georgia facility. As with all of the Southern Mint gold, mint state specimens are scarce and quite in demand. Priced less than the Trends for a Mint State 60 of $10,500. Trends for a Mint State 62 is $13,500. Combined population for NGC/PCGS is 12/25 with no coins graded higher than Mint State 63.
A Charlotte mint beauty that has a pop of 21/22. Of the 22 coins graded higher, there are none graded over Mint State 63. It is reasonable to assume that any 1851-C quarter eagle in Mint State will run into the 5 figure range. Bright, yellow with the expected grade related abrasions but plenty of mint luster remains!
Southern Mint gold is always popular with both numismatists and collectors alike. The romance of the Southern Mints and their ties to the Civil War only enhance the desirability of these issues. The 1852 Charlotte minted quarter eagle is especially collectible as there were no quarter eagles produced at the Charlotte mint in 1853. Keeping this in mind, it is safe to assume most of what remains of the 1852 issue is heavily circulated, making the few AU and Mint State examples available conditionally scarce. The mintage was below 10,000 and the PCGS pop for our coin is 11/10. Trends is $5750.
