1849 Norris, Gregg & Norris $5. K-3. Rarity-6. Reeded Edge. MS-61 (NGC).An enchanting survivor from this rare issue, with varying shades of yellow and honey-gold across each side. The fields offer a subtle reflectivity that contrasts the frosty devices abruptly on the eagle side, which is called the obverse by Kagin. An old scuff is noted across the top of the shield and at the tips of the wings, though this goes largely unnoticed without a glass. Otherwise smooth and without notable imperfections. One of the finest survivors, just 1 coin has been graded finer by NGC. <p>Once word got out that gold had been found in Northern California, the rush was on at full gallop. Prospectors, pioneers, and fortune-seekers of all stripes arrived on the scene in 1848 and 1849 overwhelming the local economy almost immediately. In short order, enterprising individuals set up assay offices and private coining facilities to help alleviate this situation. Widely believed to be the first of these private mints was established sometime in the spring of 1849 by partners Thomas H. Norris, Hiram A. Norris, and Charles Gregg in Benicia City. The first reference to any private mint in the local press uncovered so far came in the May 31, 1849 edition of the <em>Daily Alta California</em>, in which the editors noted a five-dollar gold coin struck at nearby Benicia City that, "In general appearance it resembles the United States coin of the same value, but it bears the private stamp of Norris, Grieg [sic] & Norris, and is in other particulars widely different." <p>Throughout its brief existence, Norris, Gregg, & Norris only struck $5 coins in four varieties, with plain and reeded edges, as well as with or without a period after the word ALLOY. The K-3 variety with reeded edge and no period, as here, is the scarcest of the four. The coins seem to have found quick acceptance and while some brokers understandably cautious with privately issued gold coins questioned the pieces, Mint assays by Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. DuBois substantiated their purity. <p>Today, all varieties of Norris, Gregg, & Norris $5 pieces are quite rare and eagerly pursued by pioneer gold specialists. Like many other territorial issues from the period, the majority of the issue are found in the middle circulated grade levels, becoming progressively scarcer in the finer grades. A delectable example from the very beginning of private coinage in Gold Rush California.PCGS# 10282. NGC ID: 6GJV.NGC Census: 9; 1 finer in MS-63.Ex our December 2005 sale of the Old Colony Collection, lot 1016.
