Longacre's
Three Dollar Gold (1854 - 1889): Of all the gold
coin series, Longacre's Three Dollar Gold is in many ways
the least complex. There was just one major design, the Indian
Princess motif, and the coins were produced continuously from
1854 to 1889. In the first year a variety was made in that
all the coins have the word DOLLARS in small letters, and
in 1873 there were Open and Closed 3’s in the date.
James Longacre designed the Three Dollar
Gold coin using the Indian Princess for his main device. He
had to create a motif for the Three Dollar Gold coin 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 in profile 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 design, Longacre felt that he was
creating something that was uniquely American rather than
an adoption from the classics. How ironic, from a modern perspective,
that Longacre choose a Native American theme to be emblematic
of Liberty considering the treatment they received at the
hands of the white man. The reverse of the Three Dollar Gold
piece 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 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 coin 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. Its closeness
to the quarter eagle, which was widely used, made the denomination
somewhat illogical, and the public proved indifferent to them.
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. 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.
Mintages for the Three Dollar Gold range
from a high of 138,000 in 1854 to 500 in 1881, although the
mintage of the 1873 Close 3 is unknown. In their population
reports, the two major grading services show a combined total
of 110 pieces certified, but this number does not account
for resubmissions and crossovers.
