1854 KELLOGG & CO. $20, PCGS/CAC AU50

K-2, R-4.

The Kellogg & Company $20 gold pieces dated 1854 and 1855 closely mimic the design of the federal issues produced at the newly-opened San Francisco mint. They were allowed to circulate alongside the federal coins due to problems that the new mint had in obtaining parting acids which were used in the refinery process. This problem was solved in early 1855 and this sealed the fate of the Kellogg issues.

While fairly easy to obtain in all circulated grades, the majority of these have either been processed or they are excessively marked. The present example is a beautiful premium quality coin with rich reddish-gold color which can be seen on both sides. There is a curious untoned area on the reverse at WE in TWENTY and I assume this is the result of how this coin was stored.

No PCGS/CAC 1854 Kellogg $20 in AU50 has sold at auction. In early 2017, a CAC approved AU53 brought $12,925. A PCGS AU50 with marks on the face of Liberty realized $14,400 in August 2019. DWN has sold one other coin PCGS/CAC AU50 and two in PCGS/CAC AU53 in the last year-and-a-half.

Ever since the release of the new Kagin/McCarthy reference, we have noted an even-stronger-than-expected uptick in demand for nice quality Pioneer gold, especially affordable CAC-endorsed coins.

CAC has approved three in this grade with 27 finer.

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