CoinWeek: 1830 Templeton Reid $2.50 Gold Piece Offered in Stack's Bowers February 2026 Auction

This article is based on a CoinWeek report published on January 20, 2026.

CoinWeek reported that an 1830 Templeton Reid $2.50 gold piece, a quarter eagle struck in Georgia, was being offered in Stack's Bowers Galleries' February 2026 Showcase Auction. CoinWeek presents the issue as the first gold coin of an American gold rush.

Georgia Gold and Reid's Coins

According to CoinWeek, America's earliest gold discoveries took place in the Carolinas at the turn of the 19th century, and rich deposits were later found in northern Georgia. As miners moved into Cherokee lands around 1829-1830, raw gold flooded local markets. Turning dust and nuggets into spendable money was difficult and slow.

Templeton Reid was a skilled mechanic and blacksmith, as well as a jeweler, watch expert, clockmaker and gunsmith. In 1830, in Milledgeville, then Georgia's capital, he began striking gold pieces in denominations of $2.50 and $5, and later California Gold $10 and $25 pieces.

The article says the whereabouts of only the 1849 $10 Templeton Reid California Gold coins are known. One 1849 $25 coin was stolen from the United States Mint Cabinet Collection on August 16, 1858, and has never been recovered.

The gold rushes in Georgia and North Carolina led to the first United States branch mints, at Dahlonega, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, in 1838. CoinWeek describes Reid's goal as turning mined gold into pieces that banks and merchants would accept without hesitation.

The Coin Offered

The example offered was graded AU-58 by PCGS and approved by CAC. CoinWeek describes bright yellow-gold surfaces with strong luster.

The article says the off-center alignment of the obverse and reverse suggests a fixed anvil die paired with a handheld hammer die, a sign of early private minting methods. The rims are intact and the reeding is sharp. Minor marks are present.

According to the article, this coin's pedigree includes the collections of Arthur C. Nygren, Hillyer Ryder and James A. Stack, Sr.

Survivors and Later History

The article states that fewer than 25 examples of all Reid issues survive today. It says contemporary reports confirm that banks accepted Reid's coins and that the Philadelphia Mint later redeemed them at full value. CoinWeek says many examples likely vanished quickly through re-coining, which it gives as the reason for their scarcity today.

By the late 1830s, federal branch mints took over the role Reid had filled, and his coins disappeared from circulation. By the late 19th century, according to the article, collectors already recognized Reid's quarter eagle as a landmark rarity, and early auction records described it as the first private gold coin of an American gold rush.

Source: CoinWeek, "1830 Templeton Reid $2.50: The First Gold Coin of an American Gold Rush" (January 20, 2026).