Background

Prior to the opening of the US Mint in 1792, the US used foreign gold coins for conducting commerce. This included gold coins from China and Europe.

The US Coinage Act was passed in 1792 to allow US Mint production of three US Gold coins;

• The $10 Gold Eagle
• The $5 Half Eagle, and
• The $2.50 Quarter Eagle

Production of these three coins began in 1795. It wasn’t until 54 years later in 1849 that production of the $1 Gold Coin began.

New $1 Gold Coin (1849-1854)

James Longacre designed the $1 Gold Coin. It is 13 mm in diameter, smaller than a modern cent. It has a reeded edge, historically used for preventing the “shaving” of bullion-based coins, and it contains 1.5 grams of Gold. Here is the gold $1 coin vs the Lincoln Cent in proportional sizes.

The Dollar Gold coin was minted at:

• Philadelphia
• Charlotte
• Dahlonega
• New Orleans, and
• San Francisco

Type 1 (Liberty Head)

The initial version of the gold dollar, now called ‘Type 1’, has a Liberty Head surrounded by 13 stars on the Obverse. The reverse has ‘United States of America” concentric with the rim, a Wreath that encapsulates “Dollar’ and the year of issue, and a large number 1 for the denomination. The mint mark, if any, is in an alcove under the wreath at about 6 o’clock.

Here is an example of an 1852 issue made in Philadelphia.

There are two types of reverses for the 1849 issue; the ‘Open Wreath’ and the ‘Closed Wreath’. The ‘Open Wreath’ coin has a larger gap between the ends of the wreath and the numeral ‘1’ than the ‘Closed Wreath’ version.

The 1849-C Open Wreath version is quite valuable, with the nicest known examples worth about $700,000 at retail in April 2021.

Type 1 Gold Dollars got off to a running start with almost 700,000 made in Philadelphia the first year. Philadelphia and New Orleans manufactured most of these coins during the six year period for Type 1. The Dahlonega mint made the fewest, and they are generally the most valuable as a result. Charlotte made the next fewest, and these are more valuable than the ones made by the ‘big mints’.

The 1850-O is another prized collectible.

Type 1 Gold Dollars Mintage and Value:

Type 2 $1 Gold Coin (1854-1856)

James Longacre re-designed the coin for 1854, primarily because the public thought the coin was too small. The Type 2 is thinner, but has a larger diameter, changing from 13 to 15 millimeters. The Type 2 Gold Dollar has a small Princess Head bust with ‘United States of America’, but the stars from Type 1 are missing.

There were some issues with the Type 2, including a weak strike in the date area on the center reverse.

The Type 2 was minted at the same 5 mints as the Type 1.

Here is the Type 2 gold $1 coin vs the Lincoln Cent in proportional sizes.

Here is an example of an 1855 issue made in Philadelphia.

Type 3 $1 Gold Coin (1856-1889)

James Longacre re-designed the coin again, this time primarily because the Type 2 did not strike well. The Type 3 coin is the same diameter, thickness, and weight and uses the same 90% Gold alloy. The reverse is unchanged from the Type 2. The main change is that the bust was significantly enlarged.

The New Orleans mint closed in 1861, so these coins were only made at the other four mints.

Type 3 was the final design for the Gold $1 coin. The primary change is from the small to the large Princess Head Bust. The Gold Dollar remained in production through 1889.

Here is the Type 2 gold $1 coin vs the Lincoln Cent in proportional sizes.

Here is an example of an 1874 issue made in Philadelphia.

Missing Type 3 Gold Dollars

In 1860 only 1,566 Gold Dollars were minted at Dahlonega. Only about 100 1860-D Gold Dollars are known to be held. So about 1,460 have either not survived or not been discovered.

Some retail prices for these scarce coins in April 2021 follow:

• Good 4: $1,100
• About Uncirculated 50: $7,750
• Uncirculated MS63: $51,500

Similarly, about 50 of the 1,000 1861-D coins minted are held. Retail prices for these are much higher, with AU valued at $36,000.

Review

Prior to 1795 the US used foreign Gold coins to conduct commerce. The year 1795 brought the capability for the United States to issue their own Gold coins. Production of the $1 Gold Piece began 54 years later in 1849. James Longacre designed all 3 types of $1 Gold coins, which were minted through 1889. The low mintage of $1 Gold coins manufactured at Dahlonega created some valuable collector coins.

Happy Hunting!