7484

1854 G$1 Type Two MS66 NGC. Coinage of gold dollar

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:1.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1854 G$1  Type Two MS66 NGC. Coinage of gold dollar
<B>1854 G$1 Type Two MS66 NGC.</B></I> Coinage of gold dollars and double eagles commenced in 1849 after passage of the Act of March 3 of that year, authorizing the two denominations. This Act was obviously a direct result of the massive gold discoveries in California. The one dollar denomination, previously only struck in silver, was added to the series of gold coinage as the basis or unit of value for the larger denominations. The double eagle was added to provide a larger physical size coin to increase production of the gold coinage in light of substantially increased deposits of this metal at the Mint. The first section of the 1849 Coinage Act reads:<BR> "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there shall be, from time to time, struck and coined at the mint of the United States, and the branches thereof, conformably in all respects to law, (except that on the reverse of the gold dollar the figure of the eagle shall be omitted,) and conformably in all respects to the standard for gold coins now established by law, coins of gold of the following denominations and values, viz.: double eagles, each to be of the value of twenty dollars, or units, and gold dollars, each to be of the value of one dollar, or unit."<BR> Production of the gold dollar began almost immediately, while double eagle production waited until 1850. The design of the gold dollar minted during the first five years, and now known as Type One, was apparently not satisfactory, as a new design was created in 1854, and featured a small Indian Head on the obverse. The new Type Two design was even shorter lived, as the final large Indian Head design began production in 1856. The high relief of the small Indian Head design led to striking problems and required modification. It is those same striking problems that explains the condition rarity of this issue in higher grades, especially in Mint State. The central obverse and reverse are always weakly struck, with the date on the reverse opposite the highest design elements of the obverse. This led to weakness in the date area, a highly undesirable situation at the Mint.<BR> Today, examples in high grade are seldom seen. The depth of design led to almost immediate friction and eventual wear on the highest design points, and this assumes the coins were fully struck to begin with. Few were. This example is one of the sharpest we have seen, and is in fact, fully struck. Every letter of LIBERTY is completely visible and sharp, as are all of the individual feather details in the headdress. Even the hair below the coronet is completely delineated. The reverse is similarly sharp with the wreath details complete in every respect. The only point of weakness is at the upper right curve of the 8 in the date, and it is this point on the reverse that is exactly opposite the deepest recess of the obverse die. This is a fully lustrous and frosty Gem with rich yellow-gold luster and hints of pinkish toning. The surfaces are virtually perfect with only a few microscopic contact marks. There are no visible clash marks on either side, even though this was struck from a late state of the reverse die. Rim crumbling is evident at 1 o'clock and 3 o'clock on the reverse border. This impressive Gem quality Type Two gold dollar is wonderful in every way, and it will certainly be a welcome addition in the advanced collectors date or type set. It is truly a coin that will be appreciated by the connoisseur. Population: 9 in 66, 2 finer (1/05). Lot:7484