On December 23, 1848 Edward E. Dunbar left New York City for California. He traveled on the steamer Crescent to Panama, walked across the isthmus, and arrived in San Francisco on the California on February 28th. The enterprising Dunbar became an auctioneer and commission merchant within two months. He also insured gold dust and stored baggage.

The following November he opened up the Merchant’s Exchange and Reading Room. He lost this facility in 1850 at the time of the “great fire.” In September of 1850 he opened Dunbar’s California Bank. During this time he bought and sold gold dust and insured shipments to New York. In November he included an exchange office where local paper money was bought and sold. In December the California Courier ran an article that said that Dunbar would redeem Baldwin coins at par.

Between September and April Dunbar began to issue his own coins. The dies were engraved in the style of Albert Kuner also of San Francisco. Researchers do not know why the Dunbar coins were omitted from the sample that was sent to Humbert to be assayed by James King. Later Dunbar sent samples of his five-dollar coin to Humbert, who refused to test them. Subsequently the former State Assayer, Kohler, assayed Dunbar’s gold and found that they were worth $5.13. However, in the spring Dunbar stopped minting coins. Dunbar turned to currency manufacturing and formed the Continental Bank Note Company.