Georgia Gold (Templeton Reid 1830)

Before the discovery of gold in California in 1849, the primary sources of American gold were in the Southeastern states, particularly Georgia and North Carolina. There, private minters turned the native ore into simple coins that relieved the needs of the local economy at a time when the Mint at Philadelphia was hard-pressed producing coins for the entire nation. One such minter was Templeton Reid of Gainesville, Georgia, a jeweler and gunsmith, who produced a very limited number of $2.50, $5, and $10 gold pieces, most dated 1830. Currently, this set is impossible to complete, as PCGS has yet to certify the dateless version of the $10 gold piece, but hope springs eternal for collectors who favor these incredibly rare coins.