Three dollar coin

Three dollar coin from 1887

Three dollar coin from 1878

The three dollar coin was a gold coin with a face value of three US dollars that was minted in the United States from 1854 to 1889 . It was approved by Act of February 21, 1853 and designed by chief engraver James B. Longacre . The front shows a representation of the Libertas with a feather headdress of an Indian princess and the back a wreath made of corn, wheat, cotton and tobacco.

In 1851, the United States Congress allowed a three-cent piece to be minted from silver so that postage stamps of that value could be purchased without the use of the largely unpopular copper cents. Two years later, a law was passed that allowed a three-dollar coin to be minted. According to some reports, the coin was wanted so that larger quantities of postage stamps could be bought with it. According to another opinion, the introduction of this gold coin was based on the rich gold discoveries in California . When designing the coin, Longacre tried to make it as different as possible from the Quarter Eagle or $ 2.50 piece, and struck it from a thinner blank with a distinctive design. Although more than 100,000 pieces were minted in the first year, the coin was rarely used. It circulated mainly on the west coast , where gold and silver were preferred over paper money .

Web links

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Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Taxay, Don (1983). The US Mint and Coinage (reprint of 1966 ed.). New York, NY: Sanford J. Durst Numismatic Publications. ISBN 978-0-915262-68-7 . P. 210 f.
2. ↑ Breen, Walter (1988): Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of US and Colonial Coins. New York, NY: Doubleday. ISBN 978-0-385-14207-6 . P. 504.
3. ^ Bowers, Q. David; Winter, Douglas A .; Jewell, Richard (2005): The United States $ 3 Gold Pieces 1854-1889. Wolfeboro, NH: American Numismatic Rarities, LLC. ISBN 0-9765313-0-5 . P. 164.
4. ↑ Garrett, Jeff; Guth, Ron (2008). Encyclopedia of US Gold Coins, 1795-1933 (second ed.). Atlanta, Ga .: Whitman Publishing, LLC. ISBN 978-0-7948-2254-5 . P. 141.
5. ^ Julian, RW (November 1998). "America's $ 3 coin". Coins (Iola, Wis .: Krause Publications): 34-36. P. 35.