1849 $5 Gold PCGS VG08 CAC Moffat & Co Mintage, Fairmont Collection

1849 $5 Gold PCGS VG08 CAC Moffat & Co Mintage, Fairmont Collection, 43880895.  These coins were struck during the Gold Rush, as a huge influx of prospectors and the long distance from the eastern, official US branch mints created a demand for currency that the realities of the day just could not come up with.  Moffat & Co. was one of several private minters striving to meet this demand - a company created by John Moffat, formerly a member of a prominent New York assaying firm, and engraved by George Albrecht Ferdinand Kuner, a Bavarian immigrant who struck out west to find his own fortune in the Rush.   While not offical US currency produced by the United States government, the Moffat private strikes were regarded as finely struck and of being almost identical in weight & value to the real deal being produced in Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Dahlonega.  The coins were backed by Moffat's guarantee to pay out its face value in silver, no questions asked, and served as de facto currency for several years in California until the federal government granted them the rights to strike official currency.   The mintage for the 1849 $5 Moffat & Co is unknown; however, we can tell you that the PCGS population for this specific grade is 4, with 180 finer graded; the CAC population for the same is just this 1, with 26 finer.  #FlowerHillCollectables #FHC