(1849) G$10 Miners Bank K-1

Coin / United States of America / G$10 / Miners Bank / 1849 / San Francisco

Despite their apparent ubiquity in San Francisco in late 1849, today Miners’ Bank $10s are now scarce, with around 35 examples extant. Most are XF or AU, with a handful of mint state examples comprising the condition census. The gem mint state Ellsworth/Garrett specimen is the finest known example. In 2017, David J. McCarthy identified repeating depressions on the so-called “Crimped Border” Miners’ Bank $10s (see photo at bottom of page) that were “discovered” by John J. Ford in the late 1970s. These pieces are now known to be 20th-century die transfer forgeries.