California Republic (1846), State of California (1850-present)
Unreocgnized Republic (1846), State of the United States (1850-present)
Location: Western United States
Capital City: Sonoma (1846), San José (1850-1851), Vallejo (1851-1852), Sacramento (1852-1853, 1854-1862, 1862-present), Benicia (1853-1854), San Francisco (1862)
Government type: Republic (1846), US State (1850-present)
Main languages: English
Main religions: Protestant Christianity, Catholic Christianity, Atheism
Chronology
1846: Mexican province of Alta California declares independence, but the republic only holds a small area of the region. After 25 days it joins the United States
1850: State of California created out of Unorganized Mexican Cession Territory.
Currency
US Dollar (1848-present)
1 Dollar = 100 Cents
Coins from California in the collection
•1/4 Dollar, 1871 (gold, KM#5.2)
Note: California gold tokens were not official legal tender, but unofficial currency used in California from 1848 to 1883. They were first made out of necessity during the California gold rush due to a lack of coinage for the rapidly growing population, but continued to be produced well after then. Their use in actual trade declined as more US coinage made its way to California, but they were particularly popular for sending in the mail due to being small and light. The Coinage Act of 1864 made the production of privately-minted money illegal in the United States, but California's distance from the US Federal Authorities in Washington, DC let them get away with it for a while. In 1883, the Secret Service opened an investigation into California gold tokens, and though no one was convicted, it successfully scared the token manufacturers into stopping. In modern times, similar tokens, without any face value, are still made, some resembling the old tokens, but now they have no monetary use and are just souvenirs.