Type 3 Gold Dollars 1856-1889 Coin Guide
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Type 3 Gold Dollars 1856-1889
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. If you still don't
succeed the second time, try once more. That was the philosophy that
guided the United States Mint in producing this nation's smallest coin,
the gold dollar.
When it made its first appearance in 1849, the $1 gold coin was a mere
thirteen millimeters in diameter-more than one-fourth smaller than our
present-day Roosevelt dime. That made it the smallest coin in U.S. history
in girth, though not in weight (the silver three-cent piece weighed less).
Many Americans grumbled that because it was so tiny, they had trouble
keeping track of it. And losing a dollar was no small matter back in the
mid-19th century; for many it represented a day's pay.
In 1854, the Mint took steps to remedy the problem; without changing
the gold dollar's weight, it increased the coin's diameter to fifteen
millimeters. This yielded a coin that was noticeably larger, considerably
thinner and, presumably, less likely to get lost. But the new Type 2
dollar had a serious deficiency of its own: Its designer, Chief Engraver
James Barton Longacre, had made the relief too high on the obverse. As a
consequence, very few examples were fully struck and virtually all the
coins wore down quickly in circulation, deteriorating rapidly into
all-but-dateless disks with fading features.
So it was that in 1856, Longacre had to try again. Returning to the
drawing board, he applied the same principle to the obverse design as the
Mint had applied two years earlier to the physical dimensions of the coin:
He made the portrait larger, but also flatter.
Although the size and configuration of the portrait and other elements
differ on the Type 2 and Type 3 gold dollars, both have essentially the
same design. On both, the obverse features a female figure commonly
described as an "Indian princess," and both are therefore known
as "Indian Head" types. Research suggests, however, that this
interpretation may be erroneous: The late Walter Breen, a renowned
numismatic scholar, maintained that the head is actually a copy of a Roman
marble figure, with the headdress-which Longacre added-being the only
aspect that conceivably might be Indian in nature.
Besides enlarging the portrait's size and reducing its
three-dimensional depth, Longacre also moved the inscription UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA closer to the border on the obverse, where it encircles the
"Indian Head". On Type 2 coins, it had been directly opposite
the wreath on the reverse, which made it harder to strike both sides with
sharp details.
Wreaths appear on all three gold dollar types. On Type 1 examples,
however, the wreath is smaller and UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircles it.
By moving the motto to the obverse, Longacre was able to make the
subsequent wreaths larger and more intricate; they represent bundles of
corn, cotton, wheat and tobacco. He also moved the number "1"
entirely inside the wreaths on Type 2 and Type 3 varieties; on Type 1
specimens, it appears at the top of the wreath. All three types carry the
inscription 1 DOLLAR and the date on the reverse.
Mintages were highest in the early years, partly because worn-out or
uncurrent gold coins were being recoined during that time. In 1861 and
1862, for example, large numbers of Type 1 gold dollars hit the melting
pot for recoinage. Side-by-side circulation of these smaller dollar coins
with the later, larger ones had been causing confusion, so Mint Director
James Ross Snowden had ordered that the smaller coins be set aside and
held at the New York Sub-treasury. The accumulation totaled some eight
million pieces before recoinage.
Only twice, in 1856 and 1862, did production exceed a million pieces in
a single year-both times at the main mint in Philadelphia. In the early
years, the Charlotte and Dahlonega mints turned out gold dollars on a
regular basis, but those southern branches were closed in 1861, following
the outbreak of the Civil War-and after that the coins were struck almost
exclusively in Philadelphia, the only exception being the San Francisco
issue of 1870.
After 1862, mintages seldom topped 10,000. The low point came in 1875,
when just 400 business strikes and 20 proofs were made. Other rarities are
the 1856-D, with a mintage of 1,460, and the 1860-D, with 1,566. The
Confederacy struck an unknown amount of 1861-D gold dollars; reportedly,
only a handful survive. Proofs were made every year, and with the
exception of the years 1882 through 1889, all had low mintages and are
quite rare.
Type 3 gold dollars are far more plentiful in choice mint condition
than the two earlier types, and the key points of reference for detecting
signs of wear-the cheek and the bow-knot on the wreath-are more likely to
be pristine. Gem examples of 1862, 1874 and many dates in the '80s are
generally available.
One of the few complete collections of gold dollars formed was that of
the late Louis Eliasberg, Sr. Acquiring the collection of the Clapp Family
intact, he added whatever pieces were missing or needed upgrading. This
fabulous collection was sold at auction in 1982, and the famed Eliasberg
pedigree is still highly sought by collectors.
Although a complete date and mintmark collection of Type Threes in mint
state is not impossible, the pre-Civil War mintmarked coins will stop most
collectors without lots of time and even more money. Alternatively, a
large number of the low mintage coins made from 1879 through 1889 were
saved in superb condition, and many collectors assemble them into
beautiful, eleven-piece short sets.
It took three tries, but the third attempt was the charm: From then on,
the gold dollar's size and durability both proved satisfactory, and
production continued without interruption for more than three decades
until the denomination was discontinued in 1889. Its 33-year lifespan
coincided with one of the most turbulent periods in American history: a
third of a century during which the Civil War, the Reconstruction Era and
the Indian Wars in the West all left indelible marks on the nation's
consciousness. It served American commerce from the eve of the Civil War
through the start of the Gay Nineties.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: 15 millimeters Weight: 1.672 grams Composition: .900 gold,
.100 copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight: .04837 ounce pure gold
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Akers, David W., United States Gold Coins,
Volume I, Gold Dollars 1849-1889, Paramount Publications, Englewood, OH,
1975. Breen, Walter, Major Varieties of U. S. Gold Dollars, Hewitt
Numismatic Printers, Chicago. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete
Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York,
1988. Taxay, Don, The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Arco Publishing Co., New
York, 1966. Winter, Douglas, Gold Coins of the Charlotte Mint 1838-1861,
DWN Publishing, Dallas, 1998. Winter, Douglas, Gold Coins of the Dahlonega
Mint, DWN Publishing, Dallas, 1997. Yeoman, R.S., A Guide Book of United
States Coins, 47th Edition, Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1993.
Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.
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