Baldwin's "Horseman" $10 stands out. If it was only a rarity, the coin would still see abundant demand, but the distinctiveness of its designs make this type among the most famous and avidly sought of all California gold pieces. The obverse was inspired by an 1831 print entitled "Californians Throwing the Lasso," published in Narrative of a Voyage to the Pacific and Beering's Straight by F.W. Beechy after a watercolor by William Smyth, one of the original adventurers. More on this image can be found in ANR's Numismatic Perspective #2, published in July 2003. The print, and Kuner's fine imitation of it, show the native dress of a vaquero or horseman in Spanish California, the original American cowboys and the etymological origin of the slang "buckaroo."

Only about 12 to 15 pieces are thought to exist, with several of those in far lesser grades than Mint State, and with others damaged or heavily cleaned, though even those "problem" pieces are eagerly sought on the rare occasions they come to market.

Q. David Bowers: This is certainly one of the most distinctive designs among California Gold Rush coinage. In fact, it was too distinctive, and the pieces did not seem to circulate widely. The Horseman $10 has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Recently, Chris Karstedt and I had the opportunity to pay a visit to one of our clients who has a superb example and has used this as a start to acquire as much peripheral information about it as possible, history and the like, plus some modern numismatic strikings or "tribute" pieces as they are not from the same dies.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the August 2011 Chicago ANA Auction, where it realized $281,750.