1852 $10 Wass, Molitor & Co. Small Head

Weight

16.72 g

Diameter

34 mm

Thickness

NA

Material

Gold

Shape

Round

Edge Type

Reeded

Technique

Struck

Front design

Portrait of a woman facing left, wearing a cap.

Back design

Eagle with wings spread, holding arrows and an olive branch.

Year of Minting

1852

Ruler

NA

Mint location

Philadelphia

Mint mark

NA

Orientation

Coin alignment

Inscriptions

WASS MOLITOR & CO. | PHILADELPHIA | TEN D. | 1852

Context

: The 1852 "Small Head" Wass, Molitor & Co. $10 is one of the more unusual Pioneer gold coins. The obverse shows a raised circle around the 2 of the date. The circle was caused by a steel plug with an incuse 2 that was placed into a hole drilled into the obverse die. This was done to either correct or redate the die. The plug and the die face were not level, hence the "circle." The "Small Head" designation is a traditional name that fails to adequately distinguish between the so-called "Small Head" and "Large Head" varieties. In actuality, the two heads are close in size, but differ in shape. Kagin, in consultation with Breen, came up with new designations, but without his book, even these are difficult to use. Kagin calls this the "Long Neck, Large Close Date" variety. Better to simply recognize it as Kagin 3. Kagin called this an R-7 (7-9 known) in 1981. In 2014, approximately 15-20 examples are known. The finest example is the PCGS AU55 that sold in 2009 for $23,000; however, the record price belongs to an NGC AU50 that sold for $25,850 in 2014.

Rarity

Ultra rare

Coin type

California Gold (1849-1855)

In circulation

NA

Demonetized

No

Marketplace listings

0