The California Gold Rush started in 1849 and it soon became apparent to the US Government that they would need a minting facility in the region to handle the large amounts of ore being recovered by the so-called "49ers. To that end, a New York watchmaker named Augustus Humbert was appointed U.S. Assayer of the treasury and moved to California in 1850 to oversee the minting of gold coins by government appointed private mints. It wasn't until several years later that a federal mint would be established in San Francisco to take over the responsibility then shared by those companies.
The government set up a minting facility for Moffat & Co. called the Mt. Ophir Mint. It began production of $50 gold ingots (called slugs) immediately. Though not technically coins, the round slugs actually traded and circulated as currency as did other privately struck ingots and coins. Moffat struck the pieces form dies designed and cut by New York sculptor and medalist Charles C. Wright. By 1852 they'd turned to producing $10 coins using new dies made by Albert Kuner. All the private production was done under the watchful eye of Agustus Humbert.
It's here that W.W. Light and H.H. Pierson, whose counterstamp is neatly struck on a $10 Moffat slug, enter the picture. The two were dentists who formed a partnership in Sacramento after both moving to California independently in 1849. At some point they were stricken by "gold fever" and found themselves working for a private minter named J. S. Ormsby. Light was the manager and also cut dies for them while Pierson was a company clerk. The "San Jose Pioneer" in their May 5, 1877 issue published a description of the company and Light's employment with them.
This establishment which was located on K Street, just below the site of the Golden Eagle, did an extensive
business, the miners bringing dust to be coined forming a line and awaiting their regular terms. The gold was
melted there, and without alloy, as it came from the mine, cast into bars, rolled into strips, the rollers used
for this purpose being still in the possession of Dr. Light, a leading dental surgeon of San Francisco, who was
the chief operator of the establishment at a salary of 50 per diem.
Though nothing is known of Pierson, William Wayland Light is an open book. He was born in Bethel, Ohio in 1819 where he studied medicine early but had turned to practicing dentistry by 1846. For whatever reason he decided to through in his lot with other '49ers and booked passage on the Von Humboldt on August 1, 1849. After his connection to Ormsby and his dental partnership ended around 1860 he did some mining in Sonora, Mexico. He later returned to Sacramento and passed away there in 1895.
The Light / Pierson counterstamp is unique on a $10 Moffat slug. The piece, graded VF-30, was last sold by Kagin's at the May 15, 2017 Santa Clara Coin Expo. The hammer price was $17,265. The only other example known is struck on an 1855 Seared Liberty Quarter. Individually, both men counterstamped coins. There are about 9 known specimens of "W W Light / Dentist" counterstamps on an odd variety of coins.These include an 1816 Austrian Kreuzer, an 1851 French Franc, an 1843 US Quarter Eagle and a $5 Moffat and $10 Wass Molitor & Co private issues.
Included in the attached images, in addition to the subject stamp, is one of Dr. Light , an example of his stamp on a 1799 Silver Dollar, and a Light / Pierson advertisement.
Bruce
