SALT LAKE CITY — A rare Mormon gold from nearly two centuries old is set to go on display for all of Utah to see.
The coin from 1849 is currently at the All About Coins shop in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, but it can been seen at this weekend's Utah Coin Show in Sandy.
Minted from the gold dust first discovered in California during the Gold Rush, at one point it was brought to Salt Lake City and made into coins, according to All About Coins owner Bob Campbell.
“This particular one is the finest known of the 20 or so that are still around,” Campbell said. “All the others have been melted down over the years and are lost.”
Campbell estimates the coin is worth more than a million dollars.
Surprisingly enough, the family that found the coin over a decade ago had no clue they had discovered a gem.
“It was actually found by a family in a safety deposit box after their grandparents had passed away,” Campbell said. “The family had no idea what it was worth.”
The coin represents a piece of Utah’s rich history.
“It speaks to the early days of the pioneers,” Campbell added. “To see history in your hands — that’s what makes it so interesting.”
For Frank Balena, a new coin specialist at the shop, being surrounded by the rare coins never gets old.
“Being able to hold a coin like that is holding history in your hand and in doing so, you’re able to see the story that coin endured throughout history,” Balena said. “Every nick, every scratch, and every mark that’s on it is a story.”
The coin will be on display from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Salt Lake Community College Conference Center at Miller Campus. Admission is $5 for an individual attendee. For a family, it’s $8.
