FLOAT
1851 Augustus Humbert fifty-dollar octagonal gold 'slug' with the 887 THOUS fineness banner, obverse and engine-turned reverse, from an 1898 Popular Science Monthly plate; pictured example unidentified — not necessarily the PCGS MS62+ specimen the FLOAT constituent is priced on.
Popular Science Monthly Vol. 53 (1898), public domain

1851 Humbert Fifty Dollar (Territorial Gold)

Maker
Augustus Humbert / U.S. Assay Office (San Francisco)
Year
1851
Rank
65 of 100

1851 Humbert Fifty Dollar (Territorial Gold)

1851 Humbert Fifty Dollar (Territorial Gold) by Augustus Humbert / U.S. Assay Office (San Francisco) (1851) is ranked 65 in the FLOAT 100 for Coins. It sold for $456,000 on 2 March 2025. The iconic California Gold Rush octagonal $50 'slug' — territorial gold that circulated as money in early San Francisco.

What is it, and why is it in the FLOAT 100?

The iconic California Gold Rush octagonal $50 'slug' — territorial gold that circulated as money in early San Francisco.

$50 gold 'slug', Lettered Edge, 887 Thous., 50 Reverse, PCGS MS62+

What is the best-sourced number for it?

Figure
$456,000
Kind
Realized at auction
Date
2 March 2025

Heritage Auctions, Long Beach Expo, Feb 27-Mar 2 2025. 1851 Humbert Fifty, Lettered Edge, 887 Thous., PCGS MS62+, realized $456,000.

This is a realized sale. Somebody paid it. Source.

How this is made

The figure
One reference price, taken from a named public source and shown with its own kind. FLOAT does not average it with anything or adjust it for time.
Realized or not
A realized price is a completed sale. A market asking price and a price-guide value are not sales, and are labeled as such wherever they appear.
Why no grade ladder
Most FLOAT 100 entries are individual objects. There is one of this, so there is no population and no spread across grades to show.
Archive
2026-08-08