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QUIZ ANSWER: OREGON BEAVER GOLD COIN INITIALS
Regarding this coin, last week I asked, "What do the letters "K.M.T.A.W.R.G.S." AND "T.O." on the beaver coin stand for?"
-Editor
1849 $5 Oregon Beaver gold coin (image from CoinFacts.com) Joe Boling writes: "K.M.T.A.W.R.G.S." are the initials of the principals of the Oregon Exchange Company (I'm not going to invest the time needed to run them down). "T.O." is a typo for "O.T." (Oregon Territory). Pete Smith writes: Kilbourne, Magruder, Taylor, Abernathy, Wilson, Rector, Gill, Campbell and Smith: Territory of Oregon. Too easy! Bob Neale had a more nuanced answer: Kilborne, Magruder, Taylor, Abernethy, Wilson, Rector, Campbell and Smith set up the Oregon Exchange Co. I don't think there was a "G" but rather a "C". I don't know for sure, but guess that T.O. stands for Territory of Oregon.
Thanks for playing! Below is some text from the CoinFacts page where I found the coin photo, noting the reason for the "C" and "G" difference on some of the coins.
-Editor
The dies contained two errors. Instead of "O.T." for Oregon Territory, "T.O." was mistakenly engraved, and where each partner's last initial appeared on the coins, Campbell's incorrectly appears as a "G." The company to avoid delay did not refashion the flawed dies. While the $5 coins were being struck, Victor M. Wallace was engraving the dies for a $10 coin. The T.O. was properly changed to O.T., and C was substituted for the G in Campbell. The initials A (Abernethy) and W (Wilson) were omitted since they did not contribute toward purchasing the new equipment. To read the complete article, see: Territorial : Oregon Gold (www.pcgscoinfacts.com/Hierarchy.aspx?c=850)
To read the complete article, see:
MORE ON THE PROPOSED U.S MINT AT THE DALLES, OREGON
(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n15a10.html)
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