1852 "887" $50 RE Augustus Humbert

Weight

83.6 g

Diameter

44 mm

Thickness

5 mm

Material

Gold

Shape

Round

Edge Type

Reeded

Technique

Struck

Front design

Augustus Humbert, Assayer

Back design

Eagle with shield, denomination, and fineness

Year of Minting

1852

Ruler

NA

Mint location

Philadelphia

Mint mark

NA

Orientation

Coin alignment

Inscriptions

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | 50 DOLLARS | 1852 | AU

Context

: In 1852, Curtis, Perry, and Ward organized the United States Assay Office of Gold as the successor organization of the provisional U.S. Assay Office under Augustus Humbert. This resulted in two $50 "Slugs" in 1852 -- one under Humbert (Kagin 11) and one under the newly organized U.S. Assay Office of Gold (Kagin 13). A third 1852 "Slug" (Kagin 14) was actually made in 1853 and bears a higher fineness of .900. The 1852 Humbert $50 is a scarce variety that usually comes heavily circulated, bumped, and bruised. A few, low-end Mint State examples have been identfied, but the real prize is a single, fully-struck example that is currently in an NGC Specimen64 holder. Because of multiple blows of the dies (at least two), the details on this coin are far superior to those seen on any other example of this variety.

Rarity

Rare

Coin type

California Gold (1849-1855)

In circulation

NA

Demonetized

No

Marketplace listings

0