Longacre’s
Proof Three Dollar Gold 1854 to 1889:
In 1851 a law was passed that authorized a three cent piece
and also made the postage rate three cents. Two years later
a new law was passed authorizing a light weight silver three
cent coinage and three dollar gold coin.
Evidently lawmakers believed that the gold coin would be useful
to buy rolls of three cent coins and sheets of stamps. It’s
closeness to the quarter eagle, which was widely used, made
the denomination somewhat illogical, and the public proved
indifferent to them.
James Longacre designed the
Three Dollar Gold Coin using an Indian Princess
motif. He had to create a motif that would be distinctly different
from the quarter and half eagle coronet designs. The design,
similar to his Gold Dollar Large Head, shows a Caucasian Liberty
facing left wearing a stylized headdress. Inscribed on the
headband is LIBERTY. She is surrounded by the words UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA. In using the Indian Princess motif, Longacre
felt that he was designing something that was uniquely American
rather than an adoption from the classics. The reverse shows
an open wreath of corn, cotton, wheat, and tobacco tied at
the bottom with a bow. The denomination 3 appears at the top
center of the wreath, with DOLLARS and the date below within
the wreath. Longacre liked the wreath design so much that
he adopted it for use on the small cent of 1856.
In 1854 the first and largest
mintage was produced. Many were saved as souvenirs. Others
briefly circulated and ended up being used for jewelry. Only
1854 had smaller letters in DOLLARS. The other dates all have
large letters for the denomination. Mintages were limited
after 1854. For many dates in the series, proofs were made;
however, because they were either spent or mishandled many
are extremely rare. The dates 1865, 1873, and 1875 were also
proof restrikes. The 1875 and 1876 coins were proof only issues
with no regular coins for those dates.
The 1873 issue had two varieties,
an open 3, which was the original, and a closed 3. In 1872
dies with closed 3 were made for all denominations. Chief
Coiner Snowden complained that the 3 could easily be taken
for an 8. New dies were prepared with open 3’s. However,
an original gold proof set had a three dollar gold coin with
an open 3, unlike any other denomination. There are also closed
3’s know for proofs of this date. Proof restrikes are
rarer than the original, especially those that have a convex
obverse and a concave reverse.
Although not listed in the
“Red Book” A Guide Book of United States Coins,
the early proof coins of this series were struck for interested
government officials and a few collectors who could obtain
them from Mint employees. They did not go on sale to the general
public until 1858, when 20 or 30 were made. Of these, 6 have
been certified by both grading services. The total estimated
mintage for proof three dollar gold pieces is 2,060. Both
grading services have a combined total number of 1770 for
them.
The highest proof mintage
is 291 in 1888 and the lowest is 20 in 1874 and 1875. A useful
way to examine proof mintage of this era is to look at the
population reports of the two grading services. Keeping in
mind that the numbers are high because of resubmissions and
crack outs, the number of early date proofs is very low. Of
the 80 proofs struck in 1859, only 17 are certified in both
services. Of the 119 proofs of 1860, 23 have been reported
by the grading services and 13 of 113 from 1861. It appears
that most of the 1860 and 1861 proofs were melted. By the
middle of the Civil War the number of proofs dropped because
in order to obtain proof coins, one had to pay as much as
twice the face value in paper money. The other way to get
proofs was to pay with gold coins at face value and pay a
fee in addition. Of the 25 minted in 1865, both services report
18 with 1 restrike. The 1875 is extremely rare because it
is also, as noted above, a proof only mintage. It has 20 reported
for both services. From the late 1870’s to the end of
the series, the mintages tended to rise to a high of 291 in
1888, as indicated above. Then they dropped off to 129 in
the last year.
An excellent example of the
three dollar proof is the 1886. It has an original mintage
of 142. In its population report for this date PCGS shows
2 in PR62 Cameo with 17 better.
