1 Dollar

1849, USA. Gold $1 Dollar "Liberty Head" Coin with "L" on Neck! PCGS AU-53!

Mint Year: 1849
References: KM-73.
Mint Place: Philadelphia
Condition: Certified and graded by PCGS as AU-53!
Denomination: Gold Dollar - Type 1, Liberty Head with Engraver´s initial (L), Open Wreath in Reverse.
Material: Gold (.900)
Diameter: 13mm
Weight: 1.7gm

Obverse: Head of Liberty, facing left, with a coronet or tiara on her head bearing her name. Engraver´s initial (L) on chest, 13 stars around.

Reverse: Value (1), above denomination (DOLLAR) and date (1849). All within wreath.
Legend: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

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.