Undated (1860) Denver City Assay Office $5 Die Trial. K-2. Rarity-8. Copper. Plain Edge. VF-25 (PCGS).This is the first example of this enigmatic and exceedingly rare type that your cataloger (JLA) can ever recall handling. The obverse design is similar to that of the K-1 Denver City Assay Office specimen offered above, but the reverse is a different design with a heraldic eagle in the center and the word (name?) KRAATZ below. There is additional lettering along the right reverse border that is neither mentioned by Kagin (1981) nor evident on the plate specimen in the authors reference on private and territorial gold coinage. We are only able to positively identify one of these letters -- W -- the rest blurry and/or incomplete. Softly struck along the lower obverse and upper reverse borders, the mountain and the inscription DENVER CITY on the former side are the boldest features on this piece. Both sides are pleasingly toned in a blend of reddish-copper and golden-brown, the reverse with several shallow planchet pits and some light surface scale over and above the eagle, as well as at the letter T in KRAATZ. There are no other blemishes of note and, indeed, this is a handsome mid-grade example of the type.As related above in our description for the K-1 example from this issuer, the Denver City Assay Office remains a mystery. We do not know where, by whom or for what purpose these pieces were made. The word KRAATZ on the reverse of the K-2 type offered here might offer a clue. Kagin states: There was an August Kraatz in the furniture business in Denver from 1863 until at least 1882. It is possible that he may have had both the dies made and patterns struck in the East in 1860, in contemplation of a move to Denver. Again, there is no corroborating evidence for this statement so the significance of KRAATZ remains unknown. Equally curious about this piece is the additional lettering along the reverse border, which appears to be part of the design but may be remnants of an undertype, although there is no other evidence for the latter on either side. The extreme rarity of this type may preclude definitive identification of this lettering as, in our experience, no other example of K-2 is extant with this feature.Significant for both its rarity and the mystery surrounding its origin, this piece is clearly worthy of additional study as, indeed, are the Denver City Assay Office pieces as a group.From the Samuel J. Berngard Collection.
