United States 1856 gold dollar

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1856 Upright 5
US 1856 gold dollar rev.jpg

The discovery of gold in California in 1849 flooded the market with the yellow metal, lowering its price and raising the price of silver. The mint responded by commencing the production of gold dollars that same year. The type I (13 mm diameter) was issued from Phildelphia, Charlotte, Dahlonega and New Orleans and San Francisco 1849-54. The type II (15 mm diameter) followed 1854-56, then the type III, shown here, with a redesigned obverse, 1856-89. All three have the same amount of gold. Mintages were limited after 1862 as larger denominations were preferred as backing for paper money. Two varieties exist for 1856, upright "5's" and slanting "5's" with the upright "5" noted as slightly scarcer. The date is not rare.

Mintage Estimate: 1,762,936; MS Population 130-160, Circulated Population 600-900.

Specification: 1.67 g, 0.900 fine gold, .048 troy oz AGW, 15 mm diameter, designed by James Longacre.

Catalog reference: KM 86, Fr-94.

Source:

  • Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
  • Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
  • Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
  • Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 59th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2005.

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