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20 Dollars - British Columbia Gold pattern
| Issuer | British Columbia |
|---|---|
| Year | 1862 |
| Type | Coin pattern |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The denomination 20 DOLLARS and the date 1862 are inscribed in three lines across the central field in bold, deeply struck lettering. The central inscription is encircled by a wreath composed of two symmetrical branches of oak with acorns, tied at the base with a ribbon bow. The entire design is contained within a beaded border. The engraver's signature KUNER A. appears in small letters near the lower exergue area, below the wreath tie. |
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| Additional information |
British Columbia's 1862 gold patterns were produced in response to the Fraser River and Cariboo gold rushes, which flooded the colony with raw placer gold and created genuine demand for a local coinage. Governor James Douglas pushed for a provincial mint to process the gold on-site rather than shipping it south to San Francisco, where American assay offices were absorbing colonial metal. The patterns were struck in London — almost certainly at the Royal Mint — as proof-of-concept pieces for a proposed coinage that Westminster ultimately refused to authorize.
The colony was absorbed into Confederation nine years later without ever issuing a circulating gold coinage. Fewer than a handful of specimens are known to exist.