Common Date $1 Gold Type 2 MS61

In 1854, after the United States' first circulating one-dollar gold coin had been minted for half a decade, significant changes in the coin's design and form were introduced. This resulted in what we are calling the $1 Gold Princess Type 2 coin. There are various obvious reasons why the coin warrants this name. Those reasons include the .900 fine gold in the coin, which displays its face value as 1 DOLLAR, just above the mintage year. Another vital reason is how the piece intriguingly portrays Liberty. In the Type 1 design, which was on the nation's one-dollar gold piece for its first five years of production, Liberty was depicted with a coronet on her head. However, the design succeeding this one opted instead for a Liberty sporting a feathered headdress.

While the iconic goddess supposedly here has the guise of a Native American princess, the headdress fails to resemble any which any Indian tribe had worn. This part of the design came from James B. Longacre, the engraver who had previously created something similar for the $3 coin. This is, however, not the only way that the $3 piece inspired the Type 2's appearance.

During the Type 1's mintage tenure, complaints arose about the coin's excessively small size, which included a 12.7mm diameter. Furthermore, the coin was often misplaced. Therefore, Longacre made the dramatically revised version thinner but also wider. This meant that, while the Type 2 matched the Type 1 in having 1.672g of weight and 0.04837 Troy oz of gold content, the diameter was now 14.3mm. The coin had therefore grown from exactly half an inch to 0.563 inches in diameter, making it easier to catch initial glimpse of.

The Type 2 stayed in production only until 1856. This can be attributed to the problematically high relief of its design, which mints often struggled to strike in sufficient detail. Longacre addressed this issue by making Liberty's head larger and shifting the obverse's lettering for what would be called the Type 3 design. That design lasted right up until the coin's mintage run ended in 1889. However, so short was the run of the Type 2 that you could find that coin especially desirable. Furthermore, since so many Type 2 pieces lose their legibility, a Gold Princess Type 2 in a high-quality condition can be particularly prized. Our supply of this coin will not necessarily be buoyant at any specific time. However, if it is and you succeed in a bid to acquire a piece, there is the potential to be impressed by the look. That appearance, graded Mint State 61, could have noticeable impairment and hairlines and small rim nicks. However, there will remain a good condition to enjoy, considering the high grade given to it.

This condition will also be good enough to enable you to discern which year this coin was struck in. By advertising the displayed year as common date, we have helped make this task especially easy.

Features of the Common Date $1 Gold Princess Type 2 MS61:

• Condition given the grade code MS61
• Reeds at the circling edge
• Possibility of a featured mint mark

Orders placed for products that are not a specific year will be fulfilled with coins of any date, based on availability. Orders of multiple coins may be filled with the same year or a variety of years.