United States 1874 gold dollar
This specimen was lot 1815 in Jean Elsen sale 163 (Brussels, November 2025), where it sold for €360 (about US$416 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ÉTATS-UNIS, AV 1 dollar, 1874. (United States, gold dollar of 1874. Extremely Fine.)"
The gold dollar was very popular on its introduction in 1849 as shifts in bullion prices had caused silver coin to go into hiding. Eventually, the silver dollar and later the paper dollar displaced it but the mint kept striking it anyway. The gold dollar was finally dropped in 1889, long after it had become unwanted. The last branch mint issue was the very rare 1870-S.
Recorded mintage: 198,800.
Specification: 1.67 g, 0.900 fine gold, .048 troy AGW, 19 mm diameter, reeded edge, designed by James Longacre.
Catalog reference: KM 86, Fr-94.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- 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, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
- [1]Elsen, Philippe, et al., Vente Publique 163, Brussels: Jean Elsen et ses Fils S.A., 2025.
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