Three Dollar Gold Coin
The three dollar gold coin, introduced in 1854, was among the foremost unpopular coins in history. Both the US Congress and the US Mint were sure a 3 dollar gold piece would be a high demand item primarily to buy sheets of one hundred three-cent postage stamps. A similar thought method led to the birth of the 3 cent trime in 1851.
Instead, the 3 dollar gold coin was soundly rejected by the general public. Consequently, little mintages of the coin were made throughout its thirty five year time period from 1854 to 1889. Only about 500,000 pieces were struck in all the mints combined.
Subtract from this total ones that were lost or destroyed, and what remains may be a little evidence of the three dollar gold coins existing nowadays.
Mint Engraver James Longacre’s style depicts associate Indian aristocrat on the obverse, carrying a feathered headgear and a band inscribed with the word “LIBERTY”.
An agricultural wreath comprised of tobacco, wheat, corn, and cotton is that the primary part of the reverse, skirting the date and “3 DOLLARS” to point its face worth.
All 3 three dollar gold coin dates are scarce, to say the least, most of them are magnificently rare. There’s only 1 popular example of the 1870-S, though numismatic students believe 2 of them were smitten. The only known 1870-S went to a brand new owner in 1982 at a value of $687,500. The 1854-D, 1875, and 1876 are all terribly rare and deserve six figure value tags for prime grade examples.
The year 1889 measured the ultimate death knell for the 3 dollar gold coin. The one dollar gold coin and also the 3 cent nickel also met their demise in 1889.