The three-dollar gold piece is one of the odd denominations of United States coinage, struck from 1854 through 1889. Designed by James B. Longacre, the obverse shows an Indian Princess head in a feathered headdress banded LIBERTY; the reverse is an agricultural wreath enclosing 3 DOLLARS and the date. The portrait and wreath echo the Type II gold dollar, and that same wreath was later used on the Flying Eagle cent.
The denomination was never popular and saw only limited circulation — one theory is that it was meant to buy a sheet of one hundred 3-cent stamps. Only 1854, 1874, and 1878 are anywhere near common; most other dates had mintages under 5,000, so the series is full of rarities, including the 1854-D, the unique 1870-S, the 1873, the Proof-only 1875 and 1876, and the 1877. All three-dollar gold pieces are scarce, and all Proofs are rare.
We actively buy three-dollar gold pieces in every grade. Send photos for a free, no-obligation offer. Info@Coinappraiser.com