DESERET MORMON * 1860 BRIGHAM'S BEES GOLD .00 UTAH FANTASY COIN

Description

1860 .00 DESERET MORMON GOLD COIN REPRESENTS THE MYTH AND LOCAL FOLKLORE SURROUNDING STORIES OF LOST TREASURES OF THE EARLY UTAH PIONEERS. AN ERA WHEN COINAGE WAS LOCALLY MINTED BY THE MORMON CHURCH. BRIGHAM'S BEES
THIS IS A COPY OF A WORK OF ART THAT HAS NEVER BEEN SPENT OR SEEN.
IN THE BOOK "BRIGHAM'S BEES", THE STORY IS TOLD OF BISHOP SAMUEL WOODBURY, WHO WAS THE MASTER ENGRAVER FOR BRIGHAM YOUNG'S TREASURY. IN 1862 HE CREATED MORE THAN 3,000 COINS IN GOLD, LEFT SALT LAKE TO GO TO PROVO, AND WAS NEVER SEEN AGAIN. SPECULATIONS RANGED FROM HIM BEING A CONFEDERATE SYMPATHIZER WHO GAVE THE SOUTH THE GOLD COINS, TO BEING KILLED BY INDIANS, TO JUST STEALING THEM AND DISAPPEARING INTO A NEW LIFE.
THE EARLY MORMONS MINTED THEIR OWN COINS OUT OF NECESSITY BECAUSE OF THE SCARCITY OF OTHER COINAGE. THE HONEYBEE OR "DESERET" BECAME THE SYMBOL OF INDUSTRY FOR BRIGHAM YOUNG'S ENVISIONED NEW STATE. THE NAME "DESERET" WAS THE OFFICIAL FIRST NAME OF THE STATE OF UTAH. THE OBVERSE OF THE COIN CONTAINS THE ALL-SEEING EYE AND HANDCLASP WITH THE WORDS "HOLINESS TO THE LORD" WRITTEN IN DESERET ALPHABET. THIS WAS A PHONETIC ALPHABET PROMOTED AS A MEANS TO GIVE THE DIVERSE FOREIGN NATIONALITIES IN UTAH TERRITORY A COMMON WRITTEN LANGUAGE.
THIS COPY COIN MEASURES 1 1/8 INCHES IN DIAMETER, IS 24 K GOLD-PLATED, AND IN MINT CONDITION.