Three Dollar Gold Pieces 1854-D $3 AU55 NGC. Variety 1-A

Three Dollar Gold Pieces
1854-D $3 AU55 NGC. Variety 1-A. The U.S. Mint struck three dollar gold pieces for the first time in 1854, fueled by the influx of gold from the California gold fields into the national economy. A substantial mintage of 138,618 pieces was accomplished at the Philadelphia Mint that year, accompanied by a small production of 24,000 examples from the New Orleans Mint, and a minuscule output of just 1,120 specimens from the Dahlonega facility. Unfortunately, there was never much commercial demand for the odd denomination, and no more three dollar gold pieces were ever struck at any of the active Southern mints. Thus, the 1854-D three dollar gold piece represents the first-year of the denomination and is the only three dollar gold piece from the famous Dahlonega Mint, important considerations for branch mint type collectors.
The small mintage was released into circulation at the time of issue and few high-quality examples were saved for numismatic purposes. There were few collectors living in the Dahlonega area and there was little numismatic interest in mintmarked issues in general, before Augustus Heaton published his ground breaking treatise on the subject in 1893. As a result, the coins circulated heavily in the regional economy until the Civil War, suffering much loss and attrition along the way. Widespread hoarding of all precious-metal coinage during the war years may have preserved some examples, but many more were melted or exported, making the issue decidedly elusive in later years. Experts believe fewer than 160 examples survive today in all grades, with most examples seen in the VF to AU grade range. Mint State examples are rare. NGC and PCGS have combined to certify 13 coins in all Mint State grades, with the two finest certified as MS62, but even that small total has been inflated by resubmissions and crossovers (8/23). The 1854-D began appearing at auction in the 19th century, with an early appearance in lot 334 of the Albert S. Elwell Collection (S.H. & H. Chapman, 12/1897):

"1854 $3 Dahlonega Georgia Mint. Very fine. Extremely rare. Probably not over six known."

The lot realized a strong price of $25.00. Of course, more examples have surfaced over the years, but collector demand for the issue has also increased exponentially, resulting in much higher prices along the way. Recent sales include the AU55 PCGS example that realized $132,000 in an auction in 2022.
The present coin is an impressive Choice AU specimen that shows just a trace of wear on the high points of the design elements. Like almost all examples seen, this coin was softly struck in some areas, with some loss of detail in the leaf to the left of the date and weak dentilation on both sides. The lightly abraded, orange-gold surfaces retain traces of satiny mint luster in sheltered areas and the overall presentation is quite attractive. Census: 24 in 55, 30 finer (8/23). From The Mercury Rising Collection.

https://coins.ha.com/itm/three-dollar-gold-pieces/1854-d-3-au55-ngc-variety-1-a/a/1365-3106.s?type=DA-DMC-CoinArchives-USCoins-1365-09142023

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