Washington makes a brief appearance on California Gold Tokens...

Howdy Again:

Now most folks who have collected or even just wanted to collect California Gold "coins" (the "real" denominated pieces) know that some of the most sought after pieces have the bust of Washington on the obverse. These were made by Frontier & Company in the 1870's.

What many folks do not realize is that Frontier & Company also made Cal Gold "tokens" or "charms" with the Washington obverse. All these pieces that I have seen are dated 1872 (Frontier & Company was in business between 1864-1872). So the token production was probably toward the end of their business cycle.

These tokens are pretty tough to find. On ebay, there are sometimes one or two (often-times damaged - holed, plugged, etc). And the cost is substantial even for the damaged pieces. The reverse of these tokens say "California Gold Charm."

I have several sets of Cal-Gold Tokens (Signature Sets) listed on the Collector's Society website, but only one Washington token. If you find one and it's not too expensive, buy it !!

By the way, I just have to say that I have a real problem with the denominated pieces always being called "real" and "coins" just because they have a donomination (dollar, cents, etc). Often times, these tokens were made by the same jewelers (illegally) who made the "real" pieces (illegally). What is the difference? A book was written about the "real" pieces; now they have BG status. The tokens don't.

Oh, and the "real" pieces circulated, at least in the early years; the tokens did not. But who can say for sure? At least one type of Arms of California Token was mailed home to Sweden in 1890 as a souvenir, along with some denominated California pieces and a federal gold dollar according to Mike Locke's website. Circulating pieces versus souvenirs - close call.

Later. CGTG