1885 Gold Three Dollar
All 801 pieces were delivered in late March of the year; three months later an example sold at auction for face value. As early as the 1920s this date was considered a great rarity. Estimates suggest some 75 to 100 or so Mint State coins can be accounted for today, along with perhaps 90 to 120 circulated pieces found, a fairly even split of the remaining coins. The circulated coin population is replete with AU pieces, many of which were possibly saved from banks and the like by Thomas L. Elder and passed on to numismatists in his era. Most of the Mint State survivors are found in Mint State-60 to Mint State-62 or marginally finer. Truly choice coins are elusive at best, and gem coins are just plain rare.
The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the Winter 2022 Showcase Auction, where it realized $96,000.