Intriguing 1853 United States Assay Office $20
1853 United States Assay Office of Gold--Moffat $20. K-19. Rarity-6-. AU-55 (NGC).
This handsome piece exhibits pretty color to well composed surfaces. Impressively sharp for the issue as well as the assigned grade, a relatively smooth appearance to both sides further enhances this coin's already significant appeal. One of the early pioneering private coiners, John Little Moffat established the firm of Moffat & Company along with his partners, Joseph R. Curtis, Philo H. Perry, and Samuel H. Ward. The firm did a thriving business and their coins were widely accepted throughout the San Francisco region. In 1850, Moffat & Company entered into a contract with the federal government to operate as the United States Assay Office of Gold while retaining the original company name. This remained the case when in January 1852 Moffat sold his interest to his partners. As part of the dissolution, Curtis, Perry and Ward would retain the Moffat & Company name and continue to strike circulating ingots under government contract. The United States Assay Office of Gold's output formed a backbone of commerce until the San Francisco Mint could begin production in earnest. In 1853, Ward died causing the remaining partners to reevaluate their government contract as assay office and, at the end of July, establish a separate private firm that resurrected the original Moffat & Co. firm name. While a $10 piece was planned, only the $20 denomination was produced, albeit in rather significant numbers. (The reported mintage is 75,636 pieces.) With Frederick Kohler as the new assayer, Curtis and Perry resumed their government contract in August. The 1853 Moffat & Co. $20s saw heavy though brief use, and, like many of their other privately produced brethren, most ended up in the new Mint's melting pots. Today, this issue is very scarce to rare in all grades with an estimated population of just 50 pieces (per Don Kagin and David McCarthy, 2023).
PCGS# 10013. NGC ID: ANHD.
NGC Census: 7; 14 finer, just six of which are Mint State (MS-63 finest).