1850 G$5 Dubosq & Co., K-1 MS

Dubosq & Company’s dies are the only private California gold dies from 1850 or 1851 that were not engraved by Albrecht Kuner and have long been ascribed to U.S. Mint engraver James B. Longacre. Dubosq’s $5s are incredibly rare, with only three reported examples. The first of these, the Smith/Brand/Lilly specimen, is permanently impounded in the Smithsonian Institution. The second example, once owned by Byron Reed, is now in the collection of the Omaha Public Library. The last was a holed example, which was discovered by B. Max Mehl in 1944, and subsequently repaired. Its last public appearance was in 1951.

Obverse Description

Liberty Head with DUBOSQ & Co. on diadem, 1850, 13 stars around

Reverse Description

Federal eagle S.M.V. CALIFORNIA GOLD. FIVE D.