The 1854 Type Two gold dollar is one of the two most plentiful issues of the Small Head design. The design change in 1854 accompanied a reduction in planchet thickness that allowed the Mint to make this small coin 2 mm larger in diameter. However, the thinner planchet also caused strike problems, and the Type Two design was quickly replaced in 1856 with a lower relief Liberty portrait.
Type Two gold dollars in Gem condition are scarce and highly sought-after.
The NGC population is 23 with 14 graded higher.
Listed at $20,700 in the CDN CPG and $25,000 in the PCGS price guide.
This date-mintmark combination is famous because of the unique three dollar gold piece. Although far from unique, specialists in this series recognize the 1870-S gold dollar as a challenging issue. Dave Bowers points out in A Guide Book of Gold Dollars that despite a reported mintage of 3,000 pieces, “it is likely that 2,000 lacked the S mintmark.” Indeed, the first sets of dies sent to the San Francisco Mint for 1870 production inadvertently lacked the mintmark. On May 14, the superintendent of the S-mint sent a telegram to Philadelphia explaining that 2,000 coins had been struck from those dies and asking whether or not they could be issued. It is not known for certain if those pieces were distributed. Assuming they were, that would leave a net mintage of only 1,000 1870-S gold dollars with the identifying mintmark. It may also explain why Augustus G. Heaton called this issue “excessively rare” in his 1893 treatise.
Tied with two others for the highest graded by NGC.
Listed at $38,000 intheNGC price guide.
Offered at $26,700 (ACH, Bank Wire, add 3.5% for Major CC & PayPal)
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This issue saw a small mintage of just 3,533 pieces. The average certified survivor is in the AU range and examples of this rarity are seldom seen in any Mint State grade. Doug Winter writes in the third edition of his Dahlonega gold reference that “I have always thought that, along with the 1850-D, [the 1857-D] was the most undervalued gold dollar from Dahlonega.” The strike on this issue is universally subpar and while not unusually weak, this example is no exception.
Offered at $15,185 delivered
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The 1860 proof gold dollar enjoyed a mintage of 154 pieces. Perhaps Mint Director James Ross Snowden was anticipating larger numbers of collectors to buy proof gold in 1860, the same way he over anticipated the demand for silver and minor proofs. However, this is a rarer issue than that mintage would lead one to expect – it’s likely that many specimens went unsold and were melted after the end of the year. This little jewel of a survivor offers plenty of cameo contrast and flash to viewers. The NGC population is only two with none higher.
Offered at $23,800 delivered
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