1853 Assay $20 900T. NGC MS63. 1853 $20 U.S. Assay Office .900 (K-18, R-2) NGC MS-63. The piece that is offered here had one of the largest mintages of all territorial gold coins, with an estimated 2 Million produced from March to October of 1853. Yet, finding this particular issue in undamaged condition is extremely hard, and uncirculated examples are rare. The present offering, certified in a new NGC holder is such a piece, and is a fresh and nice example of this ever popular issue.

Much has been written about the United States assay office, and its history has been well-documented. Yet, like all stories on the California gold rush there is a certain mystique that surrounds these coins. They helped to build the state of California during its earliest times, which also happened to be one of its most turbulent. They witnessed an immense growth of the city that was only known as Yerba Buena less then a decade ago, when it was still part of Mexico. But during that decade, man had found a shiny gold metal in the hills and mountains of California, and soon the world would be turning towards that unknown region called California. When the present piece was struck and miraculously saved from entering circulation San Francisco had grown to a bustling city.

The present piece is booming with original luster, with light green gold color underneath. Well struck, the fineness on the obverse can clearly be seen to have been altered from .880 to .900, to keep up with the standards of the United States Mint at the time. No individual marks are worth mentioning, and only a few very minor hits keep this coin out of a higher grade holder. Always popular for their history, many have considered these to be official United States Mint products and this necessary in an advanced set of American (gold) coinage.