Market Analysis: Gold Rush era numismatics from Buffalo Bayou Collection

By Steve Roach , Coin World

Published: Feb 14, 2022, 11 AM

The second-finest of 10 confirmed 1850 Dubosq & Co. $10 gold eagles, this MS-60 graded pioneer gold rarity brought $480,000 at Heritage’s Jan. 14 Platinum Night auction in Dallas.

Original images courtesy of the Heritage Auctions.

With a design closely approximating the contemporary circulating Coronet gold $10 eagle, the 1850 Dubosq & Company gold $10 eagle is well-known as one of the rarest in the entire pioneer gold series.

Images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

This NGC MS-60 1850 Dubosq & Company gold $10 eagle that sold for $480,000 Jan. 14 last sold for $329,000, in the auctioneer’s 2014 offering of the Riverboat Collection

All images courtesy of Heritage Auctions.

Heritage presented some wonderful examples of U.S. pioneer gold coins (sometimes called private or territorial gold) at its recent Florida United Numismatists Platinum Night auction in Dallas from the Buffalo Bayou Collection.

Tying for the lead was an 1850 Dubosq & Company gold $10 eagle graded Mint State 60 by Numismatic Guaranty Co. that sold for $480,000 on Jan. 14. With a design closely approximating the contemporary circulating Coronet gold $10 eagle, the issue is well-known as one of the rarest in the entire pioneer gold series.

The firm was named for Philadelphia jeweler Theodore Dubosq, who brought coining equipment to San Francisco in 1849. The firm’s gold coins were struck in two denominations, $5 half eagles and $10 eagles, and both are rare. This one is the second-finest of the 10 known $10 eagles, by Heritage’s roster, and it last sold for $329,000, in the auctioneer’s 2014 offering of the Riverboat Collection.

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