1856-N California Fractional Gold 50C Liberty Head Octagonal PCGS MS-62 BG-915A (variety of BG-311)

Rarity-8. Coinfacts Rarity-9.9. Initial "N" on reverse signifying the work product of Antoine Louis Nouizillet. It is speculated the BG-915A was struck by Robert Gray circa 1858-1860 from dies previously employed to produce BG-311 coins. The variety features a cud at star 7 and a horizontal die crack on the coronet. PCGS reports a single MS61 submission (11/15) and this MS62, finest certified so far and previously unknown, attesting to the extreme rarity of the issue. This piece may also represent a late strike of BG-311; The BG-915A plate coin in the Breen-Gillio reference lacks dentils at 3 o'clock, while this Uncirculated octagonal dollar has fairly clear dentils. There are several recently found varieties of Period One California Fractional gold, and most of them with have the suffix "A" attached to the Breen-Gillio number. These have all proved to be quite rare - and this 915A, a Period One issue - is no exception. We see BG-416A (3 known) priced at $22,500 (MS60); BG-422A (unique) priced at $27,500 (MS60); BG-932A (2 graded) priced at $12,500 (AU58) and BG-944A (3-4 known) priced at $7,500 (MS63). N