1878 US Gold $3 Coin AU58

1878 US Gold $3 Coin in Almost Uncirculated condition (NGC graded AU58).

The $3 Gold coin has an interesting history. Authorized by Congress in 1853 it was minted from 1854 to 1889. It was not well liked, and the justification for the coin was pretty vague. Two reasons most suggested were that as the First Class stamp cost 3 cents and were sold in sheets of 100 this coin made it easy to buy, the other was that silver 3 cent coins were wrapped in rolls of 100. The real reason probably had as much to do with the abundance of gold as a result of the 1849 California Gold Rush, and a need to do something with it.

The head on the obverse is a portrait of an Indian Princess with her hair curling over her neck. Her head is crowned with a circle of feathers in which is inscribed the word “Liberty”. The reverse is embellished with a wreath of tobacco, wheat corn and cotton, with the denomination and date within it. The coin weighs 5.015 grams, is 90% gold and 10% copper, and is 20.5 mm in diameter.

Because it was not widely used, the $3 gold piece is fairly rare, and is hard to find in high grades.