Help With 1855 1/2 California Gold

i just sold a similar 1852 dated piece for $18 on the ebay. Your piece likely worth at least that much, its actual value depends on when it was made as the date is no indicator since pieces dated in the 1850's were made continueously throughout the 1880's and onward.

'Tis indeed a modern replica... and I mean modern. Possibly made last year. Stamped out of bright brass, or "goldine".

ebay offers up hundreds of these tokens. The highly "stylized" bear is hardly recognizable with the obverse being little more than a line drawing. I've seen these things get into hundreds of dollars between low feedback/uninformed bidders(you can check their bid history, and see gold not being on the list). But, typically they sell for a few bucks... sure, again, sometimes more, but they aren't even really worth that. I will try again to find your specific token, but it's so new it may not be listed.

Real California fractional gold typically had the word dollar on it... typically. I would also refer to those as coins, not tokens (even though they were not government sanctioned, they were somewhat permissible as the need was there that could not be officially met).

The modern tourist tokens of course don't contain the word "dollar" and are still being produced. The older tourist tokens up until the 70's or so, did actually have gold or later gold plate and were made in California... and had a recognizable animal.

>>>edit>>> I can't find that crude of a piece listed... yet, or maybe Mike Locke(<Mr. Cal Gold himself) isn't going to bother listing such... You can take a look your self to see what's what anyway. >>> http://www.calgoldcoin.com/default.htm

>>>2nd edit>>> AAHAA! Here they are & yours may have actually been produced later than the coyright, but it's the closest I can get rite now... thanks again Mike!... & like I said, really not valuable... research people, research before buying. http://www.calgoldcoin.com/bear1.htm

I recall seeing these "so-called" tokens being retailed back in the 1970's. I say "so-called" as they never saw circulation as a money substitute. Sadly, I saw a number of these sell for $200 and up, each, at a local auction a few years ago. While the old saying, "ignorance is bliss" may hold true in some circles, ignorance among coin collectors can be quite costly! Caveat emptor ...

I think there pretty cool I have a Few in my collection and I still buy a few because I'm to poor to buy the real ones lol.

You're funny. Maybe with the money, the OP can buy you some grammar and spelling lessons. You might actually learn to type a complete sentence while your making friends here.

then where are the pictures of the real ones? maybe the "god of california gold could actually post pics of a "genuine coin with the going price then? ..or he's not sure either. ..."so everyone that has this coin put it on ebay for .99 cents, its a fake...its a phoney... .then we can buy it off you and sell it for a much higher price". you guys are so busted!

..lets be honest...there are some definite replicas..and some are harder to find than others..but there is a class of these coins that continue to hold a high value because of their controversy.. EVERY listing I have ever seen (hundreds is a total exaggeration btw....go ahead ebay search 1857 and 1852 California 1/2 how many come up on any given day? 3? 5? noway neavr the exaggerated 100 one of you claim. I dont thnk you helped that fellow I think you took advantage of him. I'm not going to post my coins because youll all just say faaaake..phoneey. and show a link that proves it is unsure of itself.. wikipedia helllllllppp!!

P.S.

there are actually hundreds

154 to be exact

http://coins.shop.ebay.com/Gold-/39...3286.c0.m282