1863 $3 (1863 Three Dollar Gold) PCGS AU53 CAC. Civil War $3. This premium quality, Civil War dated 1863 Three Dollar Gold Piece has some mint luster remaining within its devices. Slight wear shows on the highest points. There is also a small reverse dig on the knot. The grade of AU53 is confirmed by CAC. The strike is average with central weakness on the obverse as well as on the ribbon and the leaf to its right. Clash marks are seen on both sides of the coin, but these do not diminish its value or its grade. James Longacre designed the Three Dollar Gold coin using the Indian Princess for his main device. He had to create a motif for the denomination 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 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 its population report, CAC confirms 1 1863 Three Dollar Gold Piece in AU53 with 8 better.