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10 Dollars, California-Cincinnati Mining & Trading Co., United States, 1849

National Museum of American History
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Object Details

Cincinnati Mining & Trading Company
Cincinnati Mining & Trading Company
Description
This obscure company had a few five- and ten-dollar gold pieces struck for it sometime during the last third of 1849. Broderick & Kohler (who also coined for the Miners Bank and the Pacific Company), were probably responsible for the manufacture of this issue. The dies were likely made in Cincinnati, so that part of the firm's name was accurate.
We know very little about this issue. We don't know how many fives and tens were struck, although it seems likely that most were melted down. The Broderick & Kohler operation was discredited once rumors of the debasement of some of its products began to circulate, and the simplest way of dealing with substandard coins was to melt them down and start over.
We do know the following. The Cincinnati Mining & Trading Co. coins were struck by hand, in the time-honored manner of Antiquity. And we know that the coins' obverse and reverse designs represented a major departure from other people's money. The crude Liberty on the obverse bore a feather headdress, the first time this concept appeared on an American coin, while nothing else like the reverse eagle would be seen, anywhere, for decades.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Mint
1849
ID Number
1985.0441.3000
accession number
1985.0441
catalog number
1985.0441.3000
Object Name
gold coin
coin
Physical Description
gold (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 28.3 mm; 1 1/8 in
place made
United States
Related Publication
Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
Related Web Publication
http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
See more items in
Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
Coins, Currency and Medals
National Museum of American History
Record ID
nmah_741880
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-6322-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • National Numismatic Collection:Introduction

    American History Museum
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