1860 Clark, Gruber & Co. $10 Die Trial. K-3. Rarity-7-. Copper. Reeded Edge. Proof-63 BN (PCGS).Satin smooth and pleasing for the uniform dark chocolate brown patina that dominates the appearance on both sides. The surfaces are satiny in texture and overall smooth, close examination finding little more than a faint scuff over the eagles head and a tiny carbon spot above the digit 1 in the date. The strike is full and deep, with the fanciful view of Pikes Peak as a towering tall mountain with extremely steep slopes far from how this mountain actually appears, with its gentle slope and rounded top. Nevertheless, coinage began as die steel was scarce and expensive then, with these handsome copper coins probably some of the first struck when the dies were newest and freshest, thus imparting the subtle mirrored fields seen here. As a group, the patterns and die trials from Clark, Gruber & Co. are the most frequently seen within this specialized segment of private and territorial gold and related coinage. In an absolute sense, however, all off-metal strikings from this firm are rare, the present example one of perhaps only a dozen or so copper impressions of the 1860 $10. Rare and desirable.From the Samuel J. Berngard Collection. From our Americana Sale of January 2013, lot 13280.
