1872 Gold Three Dollar


1872 Gold Three Dollar

Circulation Mintage: 2,000
Obverse Text: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | LIBERTY
Reverse Text: 1872 | 3 DOLLARS

By 1872 the three-dollar gold denomination had become all but meaningless in commerce. No $3s had been seen in circulation in the East and Midwest for more than 10 years, and with no mintage in the denomination forthcoming from San Francisco since 1860, the small number of examples seen there in circulation were typically well-worn older dates. The Philadelphia Mint continued to make small quantities of circulation strikes each year as they were often purchased, at a premium if using paper money, for holiday and birthday gifts, as well as by contemporary numismatists. In the early part of the 20th century Thomas L. Elder and others sought three-dollar coins from bank tellers and other sources. Elder's efforts made him the primary source of quality pieces for many collectors but by that time, the coins had been in commerce for at least three decades and most showed wear.

Today, most high grade 1872 three-dollar gold coins can trace their origin to Elder. Two-thirds of the issue are believed extant but, as above, most of the coins acquired by Elder were circulated and only 60 or so are Uncirculated. The majority of those are at the very lowest Mint State levels, and even Choice coins in MS-63 and MS-64 are highly elusive. Gems are so rare that most collectors will go a lifetime without even seeing one.

View 1n 1872 Gold Three Dollar Auction Results

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the Spring 2022 Showcase Auction, where it realized $132,000.
 

Join our mailing list

Don't miss an auction!

Subscribe to our newsletter.

 

Contact Us

West Coast Office • (800) 458-4646

Midwest Office • (800) 817-2646

East Coast Office • (800) 566-2580

info@stacksbowers.com
 

Hong Kong, China Office • +852 2117 1191

infohk@stacksbowers.com
 

Copenhagen, Denmark • +45 80 40 49 42

infodk@stacksbowers.com

Global locations

Additional representatives
available worldwide.

Follow Us




Subscribe to
Our Newsletter

We are sorry, an unexpected error occurred!
Please enter a valid email address

I'm Interested In...

Thank You!

Thank you for subscribing to the Stack's Bowers Galleries e-newsletter.