Newman Portal Search of the Week: Kagin-15

A Newman Portal user recently searched for “Kagin-15.”  Having no idea what this was, we entered the search ourselves, and learned that this refers to Bechtler gold pieces as catalogued by Don Kagin. Bechtler gold was privately coined in North Carolina from 1831 and 1852, and, as examples are priced at four-figures and up, most numismatists would be satisfied with a single piece. For the specialist, Kagin has enumerated the die varieties, and this is one of the more prized. Kagin-15 is a $5 variety, with the inscription 5 / DOLLARS / 20 CARATS / 150 G. The Newman Portal search identified three auction appearances, two from Stack’s Bowers and one from Kagin’s. The Newman Portal also contains images of Bechtler gold from the Smithsonian, and two examples of the Kagin-15 were located in that collection. We would welcome attributions for the remainder of the Bechtler pieces.Link to Bechtler gold pieces from the National Numismatic Collection on Newman Portal: https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/imagecollection/510000