This is a short list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) regarding
California and similar private gold coins, by Mike Locke.

My home page is at http://www.calgoldcoin.com

My email address is lockem@calgoldcoin.com

This is narative rather than question and answer.  Please read all of the
information here to find an answer to your question.  I do have three
question-answer since I have been getting asked this one very frequently:

Q: Where do I go for more information on California gold coins?
A: I provide the following web pages
http://www.calgoldcoin.com/oldhtml/calgold.txt (period 1 California fractional gold-type 4 in the list below)
http://www.calgoldcoin.com/oldhtml/tokens.htm (index page to over 1000 illustrations of Cal gold tokens-type 5 & 6 in the list below)
http://www.calgoldcoin.com/oldhtml/book_review.htm (list of books on California gold coins)

Q: I have a California gold coin that gives the denomination as 1/4, 1/2,
or 1 and has a bear depected beneath that.  What is it?

A: You have a California gold souvenir token.  These souvenirs
were made from about 1915 through today and are usually gold plated brass.  They
are valued from $1 to $600 (higher value for the early issue solid gold pieces).
Not all souvenir tokens from this period have the bear on the back, but all
tokens with the bear are tokens from this period.  See my California gold token
guide for a listing of the varieties that I have seen.

Q: I have a Cincinnati Mining and Trading Co. twenty dollar coin.  Is this
worth something?

A: Yes and no.  The Cincinnati Mining and Trading Co. never succeeded in
making gold coins in California.  They did make a couple of pattern pieces
before they "headed out west".  These pieces are extremely rare and
valuable today.  Most of them are gold and weigh about 33grams.  HOWEVER,
around 1970 a large number of replicas of this piece were made and distributed.
These reproductions are extremely common and have very little value.
Other large pioneer gold coins have been similarly reproduced, but this
one seems to be the most common.  The most common of these has "TRADING"
misspelt as "TRACING".

Blake and Co $20 "gold" tokens are even more common.

The most prominent manufacturer of such pieces is Martguild.

***
Private gold coins are coins made by private companies for circulation
within the United States of America. Until 1864 the only restrictions on
non-US mint manufacturing of coins was that they had to be silver or gold
to be legal tender and they could not be made by a state government.  Of
course, private coins were expected to have the correct weight or
"Standard Metal Value" (S.M.V. as often seen on these coins).
Unfortunately, the coins were often significantly underweight, and
complaints about this precipitated the coinage act of 1864 which made private
coinage illegal.  I do not know of any private mintage USA silver coins,
although silver patterns of gold coins are known.  Numerous private mint
copper-nickel and copper coins were made (often in large quantities), but
these were never legal tender and were not allowed to give a denomination
in U.S. currency ("NOT ONE CENT", was popular).

The private coiner was supposed to make a profit by underpaying the
commissioner (the person that brought in the gold), which was also the
practice at the U.S. mint at that time.  The allowed profit margin was
very small, only a few percent.

Underweight private gold coins were frequently the subject of discussion
in period newspapers.  The word spread quickly, and underweight pieces
would not circulate.  As a result, these coins (the majority of California
gold coins) are very rare today.  The famous $50 gold "slugs" of Augustus
Humbert are actually slightly overweight.  These coins were made in very
large quantities and circulated easily.  However, being overweight made it
profitable to melt them, so they too are rare today.

I like to categorize private gold coins 7 ways:
   1) Original large denomination production strike
   2) Original large denomination pattern strike
   3) Large denomination reproductions and replicas.
   4) Small denomination circulation pieces (CSDG)
   5) Small denomination souvenir gold pieces (Calgold tokens)
   6) Small denomination souvenir "junk" pieces (common Calgold tokens)
   7) Counterfeits of category 4, 5 or 6 pieces

Category 1, 2, 4, and 5 can be quite valuable.  Some category 3 and 6
pieces have a modest value, but most are worth no more than a few dollars.
I have seen a Category 7 piece fetch $8500 at auction, so BEWARE!  Some
category 7 pieces are legitimately valuable.

Large denomination coins range from $1 to $50 face value.  Some gold
ingots also exist with a value stamped on them, and these can be larger
than $50.  All gold ingots were individually weighed and are unique;
authenticating such a piece is very difficult.  The authenticity of
many of these pieces remains controversial today.

California Small Denomination Gold (CSDG) coins range from $0.25 to $1
face value.  The distinction between large vs small denomination on $1
pieces is based on the manufacturer: if the manufacturer only made coins
of $1 or less then the pieces are "small denomination" and if the
manufacturer only made coins of $1 or more, then the pieces are "large
denomination".  No manufacturers are known to have made both large
and small denomination coins.  Unlike large denomination coins, the
small denomination coins are usually far short of S.M.V., typically
containing about 60% of the correct amount of metal.  None have S.M.V.
marked on them.

Large denomination coins were made in Georgia (they had a gold rush in
1830!), California, Utah (made from California gold), Oregon, and Colorado
(gold rush in 1860).  S.M.V. is 31 grams for every $20 in value, or $16
for 31 grams of unrefined California gold (these are not exactly the same,
but this was the practice of the day). The easiest way to identify a
category 3 coin is to weigh it.  Gold is very heavy in comparison to most
other metals, so assuming that the size of the coin is correct, if it is
not gold it will be light.  Category 1 coins range in value from $750 and
up.

A category 2 and a category 3 coin can be confused.  Category 2 coins are
the most valueable of any private issues.  They are often struck in lead,
copper, or silver, so the weight may not be correct (that "heavy" metal,
lead, is almost exactly the same weight as silver and 1/2 the weight of
gold). In addition they may be a "splasher" test piece, which will have an
irregular edge.  In any case all category 2 coins are struck from dies,
and an expert should be able to determine if that is the case with any
particular piece.  Category 2 coins range in value from $5000 and up.
Unless your piece can be traced back to a private gold manufacturer, it is
very unlikely to be category 2.  Most surviving category 2 pieces have
been handed down through the family of the manufacturers or through
friends of same.  Due to their nature, they were never available to the
general public.

Most category 3 coins were made in the 1950s or 1960s as sale promotional
items.  They are usually cast and of poor quality.  Most of them can
easily be identified by the tell-tale rough edge and rough and irregular
surfaces.  Any coin dealer should be able to identify a cast piece.
Category 3 coins range in value from $1 to $100.  A few of the category
3 pieces are gold.  The gold UTAH piece is clearly marked as a reproduction
although others are not so clearly marked.

A particular sub-category of category 3 tokens, $50 octagonal "slug"
immitations, are popular to collect and have been made in varying qualities
since at least 1899.  The better quality and scarcer examples of these are
worth up to about $800.

Category 4 coins were made in California, apparently in
San Francisco by jewelers.  They either have no date (1852), or are
dated from 1852 through 1882.  The San Francisco mint started full
production of silver coins in 1856, so the need for these hard to
use pieces was eliminated that year.  Besides, it was popular to
keep any of these coins as a souvenir, which impeded their achieving
much circulation.  These coins may have been treated as legal tender,
and give a U.S. dollar denomination on them. Category 4 coins range
in value from $250 and up for undamaged pieces.

The line between Category 4 and Category 5 pieces is blury.  Most people
draw a line based on the presence of a denomination such as "DOLLAR" on
the piece.  That is, if there is a denomination the piece is classified
as category 4 and if there is no denomination it is classified as
category 5.  However, the post 1860 production was advertised as "Jewelry
Coin" it is apparent that the post 1860 production was not intended for
use in circulation.  A major market for pieces of this nature was to
sell to gold miners who would mail them back to their families as
souvenirs.  The pieces are light weight and often low grade gold,
yielding far less than S.M.V.  Circa 1880 the practice of backdating
the pieces was started, creating confusion about the time of production.

Production of denominated pieces ended in 1882, with only a few
exceptions.  Note that it was illegal to make them after 1864.
Production of catagory 5 pieces essentially ended in
1933 when President Roosevelt outlawed private ownership of gold.
Non-denominated Category 5 coins range in value from $20 and up,
while denominated category 5 coins are valued from $150 and up.

The distinction between category 5 and category 6 coins is a bit picky.
Category 6 pieces are largely non-gold and were made in large quantities.
The most common issues are from the 1960s and from the 2000s.
Values range from $1 and up.

Category 7 coins have been made since 1869.  Most replicate old
designs and all purport to be something that they are not.  The
Kroll hoard coins from circa 1906 and the Kroll restrikes from
circa 1970 are well known denominated category 7 pieces.  Replicas
of BG1026 and BG1118 were made in England circa 2003.  Cast zinc
copies of Daniel Hurkett's 1966 vintage category 6 tokens were made
circa 1978, although it is unclear why.  I have illustrations of
some Category 7 tokens under the rogue category on my token page.
Values vary wildly.

The best reference texts are (the first 3 are heavily illustrated):
  "Private Gold Coins and Patterns of the United States" by Donald H Kagin
  copyright 1981.  Covers category 1, 2, and 3 in detail.  Gives
  inaccurate information on category 4 and 5 coins.  Still in print and
  available signed from the author.  Email at kagins@earthlink.net

  "California Pioneer Fractional Gold" by Walter Breen and Ronald Gillio.
  copyright 2003.  Covers denominated category 4 and 5 coins in detail.
  Gives a small amount of information about non-denominated tokens and
  some category 7 pieces.  Out of print and very highly
  valued; this small paper back averages about $300.
  See next as an alternative.  This gives the standard numbering scheme
  that is in use today.

  "California Fractional Gold" by David Doering.  1st edition copyright
  1980, 2nd edition copyright 1982.  Covers category 4 and 5 coins in
  detail, lists some category 6 and 7 coins.  The numbering scheme in this
  text is no longer in use and the historical information regarding the
  manufacture of the coins is acknowledged as inaccurate.  However, the
  listing is fairly complete, the pictures are reasonably good, and the
  book is available at a moderate price; about $40.  Don't believe any of
  the prices in this book, most are extremely high.  Doering was trying
  to get top dollar for his collection at the time of publication.  Also
  out of print.

  "Small California and Territorial Gold Coins" by R.H. Burnie copyright
  1955.  No pictures in this book.  Covers category 4, 5, 6, and 7 coins
  in detail.  Category 4 and 5 listings include many doubtful and/or
  inaccurate listings.  However, the long list of category 6 and 7 pieces
  is of some (albeit very limited) value.  Out of print, but available
  for about $40.  Watch out for the rare "green covers" edition, or for
  the very scarce signature of Mr. Burnie.

  "The Brasher Bulletin" the periodical club bulletin of The Society of
  Private and Pioneer Numismatists.  All but one issue is available for a
  modest price from the club secretary.  Of course that one unavailable
  issue contains the only published exhaustive list of Alaska category 6
  pieces (illustrated too!).  This publication contains documentation of
  many newly discovered pieces that are not listed in the publications
  noted above.  Don Kagin has recently taken over publication of this
  periodical and club membership information can be received by emailing
  kagins@earthlink.net

If I still haven't answered your question, email me at lockem@calgoldcoin.com

Please include a description of all of the design and lettering, the
diameter of the piece, the edge (rough, reeded, smooth, lettered), the
shape of the piece (round, octagonal, etc), and the weight of the piece if
you want a meaningful answer.