Absolutely nothing about this assayer was known to Mr. Ford and the cataloguer has little to add beyond the numismatic observations to follow.
Assuming the date on the presumed unique Reed bar, 1876, is contemporary with its manufacture, and that the description of the bar’s contents as
“California Placer Gold” is accurate, Reed may have been a San Francisco assayer active around the centennial. The piece is clearly of a commemorative nature and may have been a commercial product made for sale in San Francisco in the expectation of profiting from the national festivities as well as the growing self-consciousness of the 49’er generation.
3 oz J. Reed, Assayer. Unknown location (San Francisco?). Gold assay ingot, 1849-1876
Overall appearance of Extremely Fine. Nice, medium yellow gold color. Small flaw in center of back. An attractive small gold bar, nicely formed with sharp edges, squared off corners, and polished faces. The piece was obviously made for sale as a souvenir or keepsake and not for monetary purposes, as most of the small bars were. No logotypes used but there seem to be two sets of letter punches and one of numerals present on the bar. Assuming the “3 OUNCES” on the bar are Troy ounces, then 3 Troy ounces of .883 fine gold are equivalent to 2.649 ozst. of 1.0 fine gold. The bar’s stated value of $54.75 divided by 2.649 yields a value for 1 ozt pure gold of $20.668. The U.S. Mint’s price at the time for 1 ozt. pure gold was $20.6718, showing the bar’s valuation to be 3.8 mills variant.
- Face: 1849 1876 / 3 OUNCES 883 THOUS / CALIFORNIA PLACER / GOLD.
- Back: VALUE / IN / UNITED STATES COIN / 54 DOLLARS 75 CENTS.
- Top side: J.REED ASSAYER.
- Bottom side: blank.
- Left side: blank.
- Right side: blank.
- Dimensions: 43.3 x 17.8 x 6.9 mm.
- Current weight: 93.18 gms.
From the John J. Ford, Jr. Collection
Provenance: Provenance unrecorded.
[10/2007] https://auctions.stacksbowers.com/lots/view/3-AV6OX/j-reed-assayer-unknown-location-san-francisco-gold-assay-ingot-1849-1876 ($12,650)