The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-29
OF CGLIFORNIA'S FIRST GOLD


Letters which Nave Long PuE1led Ceher-
GoPn-EyIdence New Fhat.C Coins were
Made Of tne FirNt Geld THAT WINS
sent From California % w~asnihptoB'
A Question that has long puEzSed coin
collectors IL tho meaning OF the Setoers
Gal punchmAFSed ON q rare eariety OF
the gold quarter eagle Of ts4s. Inc ansNsr
has Just been discovered
N~umiamatists have long ~asSociseed co.
coin With California. which was NOT
diRaCuIt deduction from the stters oAb
and tho date ls&S. and yet thsy Dave ge@
been sure. Some collectors
among the pioneer or private gold COINS on
California and even among the pattern OF
exuerimsntal Issues Of the United states
Mint at ~Philadelphia.
Az a matter Of fact the FIRST theory 70
correct, but besides being associated with
the first California gold used at the mint
with which TO strike United States coins
his quarter eagle 10 Of interest as a re-
miDder OF she fact that prominent Govern
ment officials we're sceptical a. TO the yellow
metal being gold. This scspticisn 10 shown
by certain letters recently found among
Government documents.
In n letter 10 Brig. Gen. II. Jones.
Adjutant- General of the United States
Army, with headquarters at Wsshington.
dated September 10, lsks. Col. n. b. Mason.
commanding the military department. a.
Monterey, Cal, stated that he was sending
samples Of gold received from . dozen
or 90 persons, among whom was Capt.
Suffer. in the care Of Lieut.. l.. Loeser, who
on August 80. with the original OF the letter.
had sailed on the chooner L~ambaycana
for Paytu, Peru, on his way around Cape
Horn and thence to Washington.
In addition to these specimens OF gold.
the letter went on, the Lieutenant carried
q ten daddy containing $50 ounces rs penny
weights 0 grains of gold. This was pur-
chased at San Francisco by Col. Masonis
orders. and 10 sent to o ~ a fair sample
Of the gold obtained from h mines OF the
Sacramento IL is a mixture coming from
the various parts OF tho gold DISTRICT
Gen. Jones upon receipt OF the tea caddy
evidently turned il over to the Secretary
Of War. William l.. Marcy. who vent u 90
the Director Of the Mint at P~hilGdelphia
in care Of Lieut. Col. Cooper. who bore .
letter TO tho Director dated December, Z.
isGs. In this letter the Secretary stated
that the tea caddy was supposed 20 con-
tain 200 ounces rs pennyweights Q grains
-of what 10 presumed to be gold"
This metal, ne wrote. had just been for
warded from different localities in Califor-
mia, and doubt was expressed by several
persons a. to its actually being the precious
metal. In the event that tho metal proved
to be gold, Secretary Marcy requested
that "the two medals ordered by Congress-
what those were is not at present known.
but they probably had to do with
the Mexican war-be struck in IL. that a
pound OF the pure metal be returned by
Col. Cooper, and that the remainder. with
the exception OF one or two small bars.
be coined and sent with the bars TO the
department.
He said that as many persons mighk
desire TO procure a specimen OF coin made
from California gold by exchanging other
coin for il he would suggest that the metal
be made into quarter eagles. with a dis
tinguishing mark on each. il any variation
from the ordinary issues OF the mint would
be proper and could be conveniently made.
James Ross Snowden. Director OF the Mimi
at Philadelphia. on December II. lSSs.
wrote to Mr.. Marcy acknowledging the
receipt Of the gold. which he said had been
deposited in the name OF the War Depart
ment. He further said that n portion
would be reserved for the medals and the
rsst coined. subject to his order. Thst
gold in the caddy after refining amounted
TO I'll ounce ~ pennyweights Of gold. Of
q ~fnenees OF .SV415, and was valued al
S .eiO.IO.
Il 10 easy to infer that the disting gushing
mark placed upon hec coins. in ac~caFdancs
with the suggestion OF the Secretary Of
War, was the letters cal" A change
in the design of a United States coin cannot
accomplished quickly. and therefore
it ID reasonable TO suppose that the Director
resorted to the simple expedient Of punch
marking the three letters on the quarter
eagles struck from this first lot OF California
gold.
II the Director followed out the plan
by him in his letter il In probable
that the number OF quarter eagles bearing
this mark was between 1000 and 1900.
II may seem odd. in view Of subsequent
events and Of the fact that for q long tinae
after the date OF the letter OF the Secretary
Of Wa California was the greatest gold
producing region in the world. to think
persons high in authority should re-
gard with suspicion the first gold from
California, n yet many OF ths samples
Of by Col. Mason aid prove 70 b@
innocent OF the presence OF tho
precious metal. The mint assayers, Eek
feldt and Dubois, in whose hands ali tho
FIRST samples Of California gold we're placed
for assay and valuation. stated In one AT
their reports that the first sample Of ore
sent to Us by an officer In the srmy
during the Mexican war. and in advauc.
Of the wonderful rumors. but so perfectly
exempt was this considerable invoice 81
stones from anything like precious mes.i
that We might be forgiven for having joineN
the general ~incredulity by which 90 many
have been deceived and some belab,d.
Other specimens have since been for~ard~df
for examination by the Hon. Secrstarv
Of the Interior. most OF which we're equally
d~isproving at least the com
mon impression that everything In the rold
region Is ganRue for gold" +,
MILL. Il Z. ..--aAI. 49,