1887 Liberty Gold Dollars 1849-1889 MS64

History

The gold dollar was created by the Act of March 3, 1849, which also authorized the double eagle. House Bill No. 746, introduced by James Iver McKay on January 25, 1849, became law under President James K. Polk, and the first pieces were reportedly struck on May 8, 1849, the Mint answering both the flood of California gold and the private coiners such as the Bechtlers of Georgia. James Barton Longacre reworked the denomination in 1856 into what collectors call Type 3, enlarging and flattening the Indian princess head and lowering the relief so the coin would strike up properly, a change that also reached the reverse wreath. By 1887 the denomination had almost no commercial function, and the year's production was a formality rather than a response to circulation demand, with much of it going straight into the hands of speculators.

Details

James Barton Longacre designed both sides, and the coin was struck in the standard alloy of 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper with a reeded edge. Philadelphia was the only mint involved, so no mintmark appears; the business strike mintage was 7,500 and proofs came to 1,043 pieces. Reported diameters range from 14.30 to 15 millimeters and reported weights from 1.67 to 1.70 grams, the larger diameter and lighter weight matching the statutory standard set for Type 2 and Type 3 gold dollars.

Features

The obverse carries a left-facing female head in a feathered headdress, called an Indian princess since the 1850s and adapted by Longacre from his three-dollar gold piece. Legend placement identifies the type: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA sits close to the border and encircles the head, moved there in 1856 from its Type 2 position opposite the reverse wreath so that both sides could be brought up sharply. The reverse holds the denomination and date within a wreath, and Type 3 dollars are normally well struck, including the central two digits of the date that gave trouble on the previous type. NGC places the 1887 at number 17 on its Top 50 Most Commonly Counterfeited U.S. Coins, citing the 7,500-piece mintage, so certification carries real weight on this date.

Notable facts

• Type 3 gold dollars account for 5,327,363 business strikes and an estimated 8,700 proofs across 1856 to 1889, making the 1887 roughly 0.14 percent of the type.
• The 1870-S was the only mintmarked gold dollar struck after the Civil War, which leaves Philadelphia as the sole source for every date from 1871 through 1889.
• PCGS recognizes a separate Prooflike designation for 1887 business strikes, with examples graded MS67PL, MS66+PL and MS65PL.
• Because so many examples were set aside rather than spent, worn circulated 1887 dollars are harder to find relative to demand than Mint State pieces.
• Proof gold dollars were struck at Philadelphia from 1859 onward, and the denomination ended in 1889, with surviving pieces circulating in some regions until the United States left the gold standard in the early 1930s.
• Walter Breen argued that the obverse head was copied from a Roman marble and that only the headdress Longacre added is arguably Native American.