1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. $5. K-2. Rarity-4. AU-53 (NGC). OH.This richly toned example exhibits mottled rose-gray highlights to a base of deep khaki-gold patina. Boldly to sharply defined throughout, as the assigned AU grade would suggest, there is much to recommend this coin to territorial gold type and date collectors alike. The most significant of the private minting firms servicing the Colorado Gold Rush of the late 1850s and early 1860s, Clark, Gruber & Co. produced $2.50, $5, $10 and $20 coins in 1860 and 1861. The company eventually issued $594,305 in gold coins, which became the principal currency of the Pikes Peak region during the height of the gold rush. As a well defined survivor of the initial Clark, Gruber & Co. $5 issue, the coin offered here is a significant reminder of a lesser-known chapter in the history of the American frontier.From the Blue Ridge Mountains Portfolio.
