NGC-certified $50 Gold Piece from Gold Rush Leads Stack's Bowers Galleries Auction

A high-grade relic of the California Gold Rush that has been certified by Numismatic Guaranty Company® (NGC®) is being offered in an upcoming Stack’s Bowers Galleries sale. Online bidding is already underway for the May 2025 Showcase Auction, which is set to end on May 6, 2025.

An 1851 Humbert “880” Reeded $50 gold piece graded NGC MS 62 (lot 11373) is the top lot among nearly 150 NGC-certified coins in the auction. This was among the first pieces produced by Augustus Humbert after his appointment to the United States Assay Office in San Francisco amid the California Gold Rush. The NGC Census contains more than 100 examples of the “880” Reeded $50 pieces, but only one is graded higher than this.

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Other NGC-certified coins in the auction include:

• an 1878 Seated Liberty Half Dollar graded NGC PF 66+ Cameo (lot 11096)
• an 1878-CC Morgan Dollar graded NGC MS 64 DPL (lot 11138)
• an 1879-CC Morgan Dollar graded NGC MS 63 PL (lot 11141)
• an 1879-CC Capped Die Morgan Dollar graded NGC MS 63 (lot 11142)
• an 1892-CC Morgan Dollar graded NGC MS 64 PL (lot 11209)
• a 1900 Lafayette Silver Dollar graded NGC MS 64 (lot 11367)
• an 1850-C Gold Dollar graded NGC AU 58 (lot 11250)
• an 1853 Liberty Head Eagle graded NGC AU 58 (lot 11287)
• a 1901-S Liberty Head Eagle graded NGC MS 67 (lot 11295)