$1 Gold 1854 Type Two Dollar, PCGS MS67

$1 Gold 1854 Type Two Dollar, PCGS MS67. The California Gold Rush brought the need to find new mediums for the influx of the yellow metal into the marketplace and can be attributed to the Coinage Act of 1849 which basically allowed the creation of two new denominations; the one dollar gold and the twenty dollar double eagle. The largest, and the smallest, of U.S. coins, both were designed by James B. Longacre who was the U.S. Mint’s chief engraver. Immediate public dislike was expressed for the $1 gold, which was considered too small for trade as it was easily lost. The disgruntlement was heard but not until 1853 when James Snowden became Mint Director, was anything actually done about it. Snowden agreed the dollar should be larger and advocated the coin be made thinner. Once approved, Snowden assigned Chief Engraver Longacre to make this modification and to also redesign the coin. Longacre had recently designed the Three dollar gold piece and was in love with his Liberty depiction which was a left-facing female in a fancy headdress. He had previously used this design on the gold dollar and double eagle of 1849. He would again use it on the Indian Head Cent and three-cent nickel, using a different headdress with each design. After the design change and the size modification, the Type Two gold dollar was put into production. However, Longacre had over- estimated the Mint’s ability to produce a design too high in relief which led to a vast majority of the coins to be partially struck. The Type Two design mishap led to another redesign in 1856 and the Type Three gold dollar. During the brief two year production from 1854-1856, only about 1.6 million type two dollars were made and it is estimated by today’s numismatic minds that less than 1% remain in any grade. Given the production and design problems, a Type Two gold dollar is rare in the Mint State conditions, scarce around MS65 and elusive above the Mint State 65 grade. Our beautiful and elusive Mint State 67 1854 Type Two gold dollar has a pop of 2 in PCGS and none finer. The last auction appearance was in July of 2003. Our specimen glows with aesthetic appeal and corners the market on color; a deep orange peel coveted by astute collectors. The Collector’s Universe list is $135,000. Price on request.