Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / CAL. / J.S.O
Reverse Image: 20 stars around.
Reverse Text: 5 DOLLS
Description
Produced by J.S. Ormsby & Company in San Francisco, California.
The Ormsby operation got underway in the autumn of 1849, however the venture was not a success. The coins that were struck were crude and not worth their face value in metal. Most of them were melted down in short order. Two denominations were struck, evidently by means of a sledgehammer. Five ten-dollar pieces are known from this company. This is the only five-dollar piece known.