1860 Clark Gruber $10 Mountain, NGC AU58. This low mintage, well preserved $10.00 1860 Territorial Gold Piece shows good definition on both sides. The lightly circulated coin has original, eye-appealing surfaces that have no distractions worthy of individual mention. It is well struck on both sides, and its fields are quite reflective because of significant remaining mint luster.

The obverse depicts a fictitious view of the mountain, Pikes Peak. In an arc around the top is the inscription: PIKES PEAK GOLD. Under the mountain is the word DENVER, with the denomination below written as TEN D. This inscription refers to the location of the mint rather than the source of the gold. Most of the gold came from the Central City area and towns west, not from Pikes Peak despite its use as a motif. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle facing left with wings outstretched. It is surrounded by the inscription CLARK GRUBER & CO. with the date below.

In November 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike attempted to reach the summit of what is now known as Pikes Peak. He made it as far as Mt. Rosa to the southeast of Pikes Peak, but after having been for two days without food in waist-deep snow, he gave up. The next year, he heard of a report of gold in the South Park area, which is present day Park County, Colorado.

In the 1800s, the area around present day city of Denver was part of the Territory of Kansas. It was unsettled into the late 1850s. Occasionally prospectors looked for gold and then would move on. In July 1858, Sam Bates and William Green Russell found a small deposit of gold near the mouth of the Little Dry Creek, which is present day Englewood. This deposit yielded about twenty ounces of gold. This discovery was the first significant amount of gold that was found in the region. A few months later hundreds of miners were working along the South Platte River. In the spring, thousands more arrived and the gold rush began in earnest. From 1860 to 1861, over 100,000 miners came to the area.

In October 1858, a town named Auraria was founded at the junction of the South Platte and Cherry Creek Rivers. Auraria was named after the town of the same name in Georgia, which was established when gold was discovered in the South. Aurum is the Latin word for gold. Another town was settled nearby called Denver City, after the governor of the territory, John W. Denver. Denver City was founded as a mining and supply settlement. Its ironic that William Larimer, a land speculator from eastern Kansas who sold parcels of land to town merchants and miners, tried to create a major city called Denver City. When he named it Denver, after the territorial governor to gain his favor, he was unaware that James Denver has already resigned as governor. A nearby settlement on the banks of the South Platte was established and called Montana City. This was the first settlement that would become the Denver metropolitan area. It soon faded and was abandoned in favor of Auraria and St. Charles City by July 1859. Eventually, because of the discovery of a large quantity of gold near Central City, Denver City grew and absorbed Auraria and St. Charles.

In 1859, because there was no effective government, people of the area set up their own government and territory, which they called the Territory of Jefferson. Robert Williamson Steele was elected Governor. In December 1859, the territorial legislature allowed the consolidation of the cities of Denver, Auraria, and Highland. The territory was renamed Colorado in 1861. When Abraham Lincoln became president, he appointed William Gilpin to be Governor of the Territory. At the start of the Civil War, the Colorado General Assembly met and created seventeen counties including a new Arapahoe County with Denver City as the county seat. In 1865, it became the territorial capital and shortened its name to Denver.

Gold nuggets and gold dust were used for commerce because there was no other medium of exchange. Gold dust brokers paid twelve to sixteen dollars an ounce, and there were many abuses. It was impossibly difficult to transport gold to Philadelphia and equally impossible to transport coins from Philadelphia back to Colorado because of the danger and likelihood of stagecoach robbery and hostile Indians. To ameliorate these conditions, the Clark brothers and Emanuel H. Gruber became bankers, brokers, assayers, and minters. The Clark brothers were Austin and Milton. Milton was the firms attorney. He went to Philadelphia to buy dies and other equipment, and in 1860 the firm struck four denominations on July 11th. In their advertisement in the Western Mountaineer they said that The native gold is coined as it is found alloyed with silver. The weight will be greater, but the value the same as the United States coin of like denominations.

In the summer and fall of 1860, Clark and Gruber coined $120,000. However, they found that this first coinage was too soft and didnt wear well. To remedy this situation, they add a small amount of alloy but kept their gold content one percent above the federal standard. No one could accuse them of debasing their product.

In 1862 the company switched from making coins to making gold bars or ingots. This action was probably taken because of pressure from the federal government. The ingots were accepted at the value stamped nationwide and in Europe. None of these are known to exist today so researchers surmise that they were used either in industry or by the federal government as bullion for coin. The next year the federal government bought out the firm and opened a federal assay office. It became a branch Mint in 1906.

The estimated original mintage of the $10.00 Mountain piece is 3,500. In its population report, NGC has certified 21 in AU58 with 19 better.