1849 Mormon Quarter Eagle - 1849 Mormon $2.50 PCGS AU55. K-1, KM-102. Bright mint luster peeks out near the rim of this rare 1849 Mormon Quarter Eagle, which is tied for third finest at NGC. The rims are unusually strong as is most of the lettering of the legends. Typical weakness is seen on the lower parts of the bottom letters, the eye, the clasped hands, and the numerals in the date. There are a few signs of circulation that are consistent with the grade, but none that is individually distracting.

The obverse shows a crude, three-pointed, Mormon priesthood Phrygian Crown above the All-Seeing Eye. The inscription is HOLINESS TO THE LORD with the words separated by dots. The reverse has clasped hands as the central device with the date below it. The reverse inscription consists of the letters G.S L.C.P.G. with the denomination written as TWO AND HALF DO separated by dots.

One of the richest gold discoveries of during the time of the California Gold Rush was at Mormon Island, downstream from Sutters Mill on the American River. James Marshall and Sam Brannan were Mormon Forty-Niners who were involved in the actual discovery of gold. It was Sam Brannan who galloped through the streets of San Francisco shouting about the discovery.

In 1848 Brigham Young decided to create a distinctive coinage for the Mormon Territory. He met with John Kay, who had worked at a private mint in England, to set up a process for smelting oar and coining gold. Brigham Young and Kay created the devices and inscriptions for the new coinage. They were engraved by Robert Campbell and Kay. The obverse devices included the three pointed Phrygian Crown, above the All-Seeing Eye. The inscription Holiness to the Lord is from the Old Testament and was originally intended for engraving on sacred jewels of the Hebrews. The reverse devices included the clasped hands for friendship, and G.S.L.C.P.G. meaning Great Salt Lake City Pure Gold. (It is interesting to note that none of the gold actually came from Salt Lake City. Until 1860 all bullion came from California. The 1860 bullion came from Colorado.) The words PURE GOLD were written out on the ten dollar piece instead of the initials. The Salt Lake City minters called their coins Valley Coins.

The first name of the Mormon Territory was the State of Deseret meaning the State of the Honeybee. Beginning in 1849, Mormon gold was minted in a small adobe building in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was actually the home of Dr. William Sharp. Brigham Young initiated the coinage and personally supervised the mint. Most Mormon gold coinage was light in weight and low in fineness. When they reached non-Mormon territories know as Gentile areas, the coins became objects of contempt as much as polygamy was. No doubt both contributed to federal opposition to the Mormons. Considering that most of their coins had a quite low fineness, it is ironic that their church sponsored issues were inscribed PURE GOLD. Because of its substandard weight and fineness, most of the early Mormon coinage was melted outside Mormon territory. Bankers accepted them with a twenty-five percent discount. San Francisco newspapers called them debased, spurious, and vile falsehoods. The lower gold content suggested either incompetence or outright fraud. To remedy this situation, Young ordered new coins for 1850. They were alloyed with silver and redesigned. However, by that time Mormon coinage had such a poor reputation, the new issues were not accepted and also wound up in the melting pot.

The Book of Mormon is part of the scriptural canon that includes the Bible and a collection of writing by Joseph Smith. Mormons believe that anything spoken or written by a prophet, while inspired, is the word of God. The Book of Mormon and the Bible are the word of God along with teachings of Smith and his successors. They believe that God wants to bring his children to immortality and eternal life. They also believe in a pre-mortal existence where people were spirit children of God. The most important part of Gods plan is that the eldest Son of God, Jesus, came to earth to conquer sin and death. They believe that everyone will be resurrected, and most will be received into various kingdoms of glory. If one accepts Christ through faith, repentance, and ordinances such as baptism and the laying on of hands, he will be accepted into the highest kingdom. Mormons also believe that angels came to Joseph Smith and others and gave them various Priesthood authorities. They further believe that their church is the only true and living church because of the divine authority restored through Smith. Mormons view other Christians as having a portion of the truth. Most Mormons feel that God talks to them in their hearts and minds.

1854 the Board of Regents of the University of Deseret, which is now the University of Utah, adopted a phonetic alphabet. At the behest of President Brigham Young, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, George D. Watt developed this new phonetic alphabet to help simplify the spelling of English. Among other works, the entire Book of Mormon was published in Deseret in the 1860s. Despite being promoted by Young and used by the Deseret News, the new alphabet did not gain wide acceptance. It fell into disuse after his death in 1877.

In 1861, Governor Alfred Cumming, a Democrat appointed by President James Buchanan to replace Brigham Young, prohibited the use of Mormon gold despite the fact that the 1850 five dollar piece is reported to have net weight of one-third gram more gold than the Federal coinage of the time. Cumming served at the governor of the Territory of Utah from 1858 to 1861.

The 1849 quarter eagle has an estimated mintage of 3,560; however, this figure is largely irrelevant since most of the Mormon coins that went to California were melted in 1851 and 1852; surviving pieces are rare. Both grading services have certified a total of 48 pieces in all conditions, and these numbers do not account for crossovers or resubmissions. In its population report, NGC shows 3 in AU55 with 7 better.