1879 $3 MS(PCGS#8001)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2226

Grade

MS64

Price

14,640

Lot Description

An amazing example at the assigned grade level, and even more desirable for being housed in a PCGS Generation 3.1 holder. Vivid golden-rose surfaces exhibit lively frosty to modestly semi-prooflike luster. There are no individually mentionable marks, and the surfaces are temptingly close to full Gem Mint State status. Sharply struck and highly appealing.<p>It soon became evident that, even though the market achieved parity between gold coins and paper currency on December 17, 1878, contemporary Americans had little desire to exchange their bills for three-dollar gold pieces. The year 1879 actually marks the beginning of the end for this unpopular denomination, for after achieving a relatively generous mintage of 82,304 circulation strikes in 1878, production at the Philadelphia Mint plummeted once again in 1879. Only 3,000 coins were delivered for potential commercial use that year, few of which were actually paid out to banks. Several hundred Mint State survivors are known, nonetheless, these likely representing coins that were set aside as numismatic keepsakes or snatched up by dealers and other speculators during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Without such efforts this issue would be virtually unobtainable in Mint State, although in the modern market it has emerged as a significant condition rarity in attractive, original, premium quality MS-64 and higher grades. This is one of the nicest 1879 threes that we have offered in recent years and will surely see spirited bidding that results in a strong price realized.