Territory Of California Cent Piece - Coin Community Forum

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Author	Replies: 4 / Views: 1,053
teo2015 Valued Member United States 214 Posts	Posted 09/04/2015 10:53 am I have an 1863 Territory of California small penny. The front is a liberty head without a war bonnet, and the reverse is the same as the period Indian head reverse, except that where the shield would be, there is a "T." with "O.C." underneath it, and the shield is at the bottom of the wreath. It also has "1 cent" instead of "One Cent". Is this an actual legal tender coin that was being minted on an ongoing basis during that period, or is it another type of civil war token that was being used due to the wartime coin shortage? If it was an actual legal tender coin, what period was it minted during? I have been able to find a lot of information about T.O.C. gold coins, but nothing on T.O.C. copper coins. If anyone is familiar with this coin/token , any information would be appreciated. Report this Post to the Staff

biokemist6 Bedrock of the Community United States 12437 Posts	Posted 09/04/2015 1:07 pm I can only guess without a picture but it sounds like it is either a fantasy piece or some sort of trade token. California became a US state in 1850, there was no "Territory of California" in 1863. Report this Post to the Staff
Finn235 Pillar of the Community United States 6130 Posts	Posted 09/04/2015 1:37 pm The coin you have is either a private civil war era token, or a modern fantasy piece. The civil war saw massive coin shortages across the nation, which led to the widespread use of private copper tokens for everyday commerce. It's certainly not outside of the realm of possibilities that you have one such token, but we would need to see a picture to assess properly. Report this Post to the Staff
teo2015 Valued Member United States 214 Posts	Posted 09/04/2015 5:42 pm The California fractional gold coins (quarters and half dollars) were minted up until 1883 when the Federal government started to enforce the Coinage Act of 1864. (The subject generally is covered on Page 400 of the Red Book). After the Coinage Act of 1864, these coins would legally have to be considered tokens, but before that, they were being used as fractional currency; and, I suspect, that something other than gold coin was being used for denominations smaller than the quarter. What I am wondering about is whether the T.O.C. mintings were some form of territorial/state sponsored coinage, or some private coinage like most of the fractional gold coins were. Regardless of whether it is a modern facsimally or an original, what were T.O.C. coins/tokens and who/where did they come from? Was T.O.C something the private mints put on coins to designate that it was meant for California use (like T.O. and O.T. were put on Oregon Territory coins)? There appears to be a large number of California fractional gold coins (quarters and halves) being collected, but no dimes, nickels or pennies. Were there some, but no one is collecting them? The coin shortage and fractional gold coins went on for almost 30 years, what were they using for non-gold coins? Edited by teo2015 09/04/2015 5:50 pm Report this Post to the Staff
MeadowviewCollector Pillar of the Community United States 4409 Posts	Posted 09/05/2015 6:59 pm would be helpful The San Francisco mint started striking silver dimes in 1856. Half Dimes in 1863. Silver quarters in 1855. The people in California were likely using whatever small change that came from the East via travelers. -MV Report this Post to the Staff
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