Unusual 1880 Dated California Fractional Gold 1/4 Dollar. A Pattern?

Interesting, thanks for that input.

If this were a gold California quarter I would expect it to weigh about .25-.30 grams. At .11 grams it's more likely gold plated brass. I don't think it's a pattern.

Thanks guys, it is nice to hear so many different opinions, I am also not sure what this is.

A few things are remarkable though, the style of the indian resembles very much the original issues, the way how the coin was struck also, the surfaces appear very similar to the originals.

What is here different from the regular issues is the unusually thin planchet.

If a forger makes a forgery, he would at least use a thicker planchet, otherwise the passing of such a piece would be hard. The material of which it is made is possibly low grade gold or a well gold plated non-precious metal.

I think, that the piece is therefore contemporary and probably made by the same people who did the regular gold pieces. I can not call it a pattern as it is not listed anywhere in that weight (at least not in the standard catalogue I have), but still this is something quite unusual and not just a common copy.



I would wonder if this piece is unique (even forgeries are mostly not unique), therefore there should be somebody who has seen it before.

This coin is definitely not a fake or forgery:
Style sufficiently different enough for no intention to deceive.
Die quality certainly not high enough to be trial (pattern) from a mint.

That is why it is a jeweler's copy.

Keep it in your collection anyway.