1849 Norris, Gregg & Norris $5. K-4. Rarity-4. Reeded Edge, Period After ALLOY. VF-35 (PCGS). OGH.Attractive straw-gold patina adorns both sides of this overall boldly defined mid grade example. A dull mark over and above the eagles right wing is noted, but otherwise the scattered abrasions are small in size and commensurate with the assigned grade. The persistent viewer will be rewarded with flashes of original luster as the surfaces rotate under a light.<p>Widely believed to be one of the first of the California private mints, partners Thomas H. Norris, Hiram A. Norris, and Charles Gregg established their firm in Benicia City sometime in early 1849. The May 31, 1849 edition of the Daily Alta California noted a new $5 coin 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." While looking nothing like their federal counterparts, the obverse of the Norris, Gregg & Norris $5 piece is almost purely inscriptional side from a ring of stars, while the reverse has an eagle with drooping wings completely unlike the Gobrecht half eagle. There is little indication that the coins were anything other than readily accepted in commerce and an assay by Jacob R. Eckfeldt and William E. DuBois substantiated their purity. Later in 1850, Norris, Gregg & Norris established a branch in Stockton and struck 1850-dated $5 coins marked STOCKTON known only from a unique specimen permanently impounded in the Smithsonian collection. Unfortunately, history does not record what happened to Norris, Gregg, & Norris; references to the coins in local papers had ceased by 1851, so it is likely that the partners dissolved the firm not long before. Despite what seems to have been a limited emission of coins, four varieties of the 1849 $5 are known with plain and reeded edges, as well as with or without a period after the word ALLOY. Large numbers of these coins ended up in the San Francisco Mints crucibles along with most other privately issued coins, making every survivor from this period significant in their own right. Rich in history and charm from the very beginning of private coinage in Gold Rush California, this specimen will certainly form the basis for any advanced cabinet of territorial gold.PCGS# 10282.
