I bet this medal caused a bit of a stir when it was released in 1976

During the Bicentennial Celebration in the United States in 1976, many, many medals were marketed around the country as souvenirs. One such medal was a replica of the 1851 California Fifty Dollar Gold Piece.

The obverse of this replica had an eagle with shield and banner, standing on a rock and the legend "Official Bicentennial Goldpiece Commemorative."

The reverse, I imagine, caused a bit of a stir in that it identified the slug as "a pure 18 karat gold commemorative." Later editions of this same slug had a "counterstamp" of sorts across the reverse which said "No Gold Content." How many of these slugs were re-sold as solid gold? I imagine that there were more than a few annoyed folks around when they found out this slug (manufactured by the United States Gold Corporation) was made of brass.

Later. Cal Gold "Token" Guy

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