1854 $3 PR(PCGS#8017)

Spring 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auktionator

Stack's Bowers

Losnummer

3124

Erhaltungsgrad

PR62

Preis

60.000

Losbeschreibung

Introduced in 1854 to coincide with the change in the first-class postal rate to 3¢, the three-dollar gold piece was intended to make the purchase of a full sheet of 100 stamps easier. However, the new gold coin never took off for everyday use and for most of its existence, mintage figures were modest with only ten of the 43 total issues exceeding 10,000 pieces, almost all in the 1850s. The Philadelphia Mint 1854 has the highest mintage in the series with 138,618 circulation strikes produced. These were preceded by 15 Proofs that Mint Director James Ross Snowden sent to Treasury Secretary James Guthrie - the first three-dollar gold pieces produced and, according to a document that Walter Breen located in the National Archives, struck on April 28, 1854. The first circulation strikes from the Philadelphia Mint followed on May 1. A few additional Proofs were made at a later date, thereby explaining John W. Dannreuther's estimated mintage of 20 Proofs for the 1854, as given in the 2018 volume of his reference series <em>United States Proof Coins</em>. All of the Proofs were struck from the same die pairing, but in one of two die states, which has led numismatic writers in the past to erroneously report on two different die varieties for this issue.<p>The present specimen is one of only 13 survivors from this historic Proof issue traced by Saul Teichman, whose census of known specimens can be found at the <em>Newman Numismatic Portal</em>. It is a bright and reflective rose-orange specimen with gently reflective fields modestly contrasting lightly frosted motifs. Wispy hairlines and other generally small handling marks account for the Proof-62 assessment from PCGS, although a lengthy, if thin scratch in the lower left obverse field is noted. Running from the letter I in UNITED to the top of the bust tip, this faint scratch joins as a tiny planchet divot (as made) behind Liberty's eye to confirm this as a Pittman coin.<p>With one of the known specimens permanently impounded in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, only a dozen Proof 1854 three-dollar gold pieces are available for private ownership. Competition for these among advanced gold collectors is intense, for not only is this a rare and historic first-year issue, it is also the only Proof issue that represents the one-year-only design type with the denomination, DOLLARS, in particularly small letters. (The mints at Philadelphia, Dahlonega, and New Orleans all struck and issued the $3 denomination in 1854 with the small DOLLARS reverse lettering style, albeit predominantly in circulation strike format.) The rare and fleeting opportunity represented by this offering should not be overlooked. In fact, it deserves the utmost in bidder attention and an aggressive bidding strategy.