1859 Three Dollar Gold (1859 $3) PCGS AU53. Gleaming mint luster remains within most of the devices of this very pleasant three-dollar gold piece. Some light abrasion marks on both sides and light wear on the feathers and the hair above Libertys eye keep this piece from a mint state grade. Except for Libertys lower hair and the knot of the bow, the strike is strong on both sides. The coin was struck from rotated dies, although this error is not noted on the PCGS holder.

Of all the gold coin series, James Longacres three dollar piece is the least complex. There was just one major design, the Indian Princess motif, and the coins were produced continuously from 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 coin and a 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.