n interesting item from Heritage’s signature sale held in Dallas on 28–31 March was an example of an 1860 gold $10 coin from the bank of Clark, Gruber & Co (lot 3179). This firm was formed as a banking partnership in Leavenworth, Kansas, in March of 1859, shortly after the discovery of gold in the region that would become the state of Colorado. The firm purchased large amounts of gold dust from the miners, who found it easier and safer to transport their findings to Leavenworth than to the Philadelphia or San Francisco Mints. As transporting gold dust to have it coined into money tied up their money for long periods, the firm also decided to become a coiner. After purchasing the necessary machinery and dies, the firm opened its mint in Denver on 10 July 1860 and coins were struck in 1860 and 1861, with the bank selling the mint to the US government sometime in 1862, as the precursor of the Denver Mint. The obverse of the
