1862, United States. Beautiful & Scarce Gold "Indian Head" Dollar Coin. 1.66gm!

Description

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1862, United States. Beautiful & Scarce Gold "Indian Head" Dollar Coin.  1.66gm!
Mint Year: 1862
References: KM-86.
Mint Place: Philadelphia
Designer: James Barton Longacre
Condition:
A few digs and small scratches, otherwise XF-AU!
Denomination: Gold ("Indian Head") Dollar  - Type 3 (
slanted 5 variety!
)
Material: Gold (.900)
Diameter: 15mm
Weight: 1.66gm
Obverse:
Large "Indian" head of Liberty left.
Legend: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Reverse:
Value (1), above denomination (DOLLAR) and date (1862). All within wreath.
Authenticity unconditionally guaranteed
.
Bid with confidence!
The
gold dollar
or
gold one-dollar piece
was a coin struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin had three types over its lifetime, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre. In terms of diameter, the Type 1 issue was the smallest United States coin ever minted.
A gold dollar had been proposed several times in the 1830s and 1840s,   but was not initially adopted. Congress was finally galvanized into   action by the increased supply of bullion caused by the California gold rush,   and in 1849 authorized a gold dollar. In its early years, silver coins   were being hoarded or exported, and the gold dollar found a ready place   in commerce. Silver again circulated after Congress in 1853 required   that new coins of that metal be made lighter, and the gold dollar became   a rarity in commerce even before federal coins vanished from   circulation because of the economic disruption caused by the American Civil War.
Gold did not again circulate in most of the nation until 1879; once   it did, the gold dollar did not regain its place. In its final years, it   was struck in small numbers, causing speculation by hoarders. It was   also in demand to be mounted in jewelry. The regular issue gold dollar   was last struck in 1889; the following year, Congress ended the series.
Contemporary reviews of the Type 1 design were generally favorable. The
New York Weekly Tribune
on May 19, 1849 described the new dollar as "undoubtedly the neatest,   tiniest, lightest, coin in this country ... it is too delicate and   beautiful to pay out for potatoes, and sauerkraut, and salt pork. Oberon   might have paid Puck with it for bringing the blossom which bewitched   Titania."
Willis' Bank Note List
stated that "there is no probability of them ever getting into general circulation; they are altogether too small." The
North Carolina Standard
hoped that they would be struck at the Charlotte Mint and circulated locally to eliminate the problem of small-denomination bank notes from out of state.
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