Values
A three-dollar piece is a long series with a short chart. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves G, VF, and MS-63 blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not cover this coin. A partial chart is not a price list for the missing years.
If you have one and want to sell it, start with how to sell a coin collection. The gold dollar is the smaller Longacre coin. The quarter eagle is the coin this piece was mistaken for.
Key Dates
No key list was copied onto this page. A year that is absent is absent because the article did not print an exact cell. Absence is not a grade.
Errors
Partial chart. 1854 Philadelphia, New Orleans, and Dahlonega are rows because the article prints those deliveries. 1855 Philadelphia and San Francisco are rows. 1879, 1880, and 1881 circulation figures are rows. Other years are not.
Rounded phrases. The article says almost, and some, for two later Philadelphia years. Those are not exact cells and they are not rows.
1870 San Francisco. The coin is discussed. An exact count is not in the sentences used here, so it is not a row.
Proofs. Proof strikes are not these circulation figures.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer. We do not host their plates. The explorer is not the mintage source for this chart.
Varieties
The three-dollar piece is one Indian princess head by James B. Longacre. It does not split into types the way the gold dollar does. The D is Dahlonega.
- 1873 Closed 3 and Open 3Where 1873 appears in the guides, it comes with a closed 3 and an open 3. That is a date punch, not a second head. This chart does not invent a row for a year it left off.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Only the exact figures the Wikipedia article prints as deliveries or circulation strikes.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1854 | P | 138,618 Philadelphia. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1854 | O | 24,000 O is New Orleans. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1854 | D | 1,120 D is Dahlonega. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1855 | P | 50,555 Philadelphia. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1855 | S | 6,600 S is San Francisco. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1879 | P | 3,000 Philadelphia. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1880 | P | 1,000 Philadelphia. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
| 1881 | P | 500 Philadelphia. Exact figure from the article. Other years stay off. Proofs stay off. | — | — | — |
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
Only exact delivery and circulation figures from the Wikipedia three-dollar piece article, retrieved 2026-10-06, are rows. Rounded phrases stay off. Years without an exact cell stay off. Proofs stay off. D is Dahlonega.
The chart is partial on purpose. Years without an exact cell stay off. Rounded phrases stay off. Proofs stay off. D is Dahlonega.
The grade columns are empty because this site has no NGC guide extract for this coin.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. No catalog page used for this coin prints a thickness on this page, so diameter and weight stay off the spec table too.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | Not printed |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | Not printed |
| Composition | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Edge | Not printed on a cited catalog page |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
No catalog page used for the three-dollar piece prints a thickness. Diameter, weight, and thickness stay Not printed. The gold dollar planchet is not copied onto this coin.
Grading
A three-dollar piece wears first in the princess’s hair and in the wreath.
Read the reverse denomination. This coin was mistaken for a quarter eagle often enough that the article says so.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| The princess | The hair and the feathers. | The gold dollar uses a related head at a smaller size. |
| The wreath | The denomination inside the wreath, including the larger letters after 1854. | The lettering change is a reverse detail, not a second series. |
| Mint mark | D, O, or S. | D is Dahlonega. A missing year on the chart is a missing cell, not a grade. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a three-dollar piece if you already know the type.
- The hair and the wreath are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this three-dollar piece are already slick.
- The hair and the wreath are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1854 is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The hair and the wreath are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from the hair and the wreath.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The hair and the wreath are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. The hair and the wreath still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on the hair and the wreath. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1854 is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the hair and the wreath.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on the hair and the wreath.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on the hair and the wreath.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the hair and the wreath.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean three-dollar piece for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the hair and the wreath.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proofs exist. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this gold coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
The three-dollar gold piece ran from 1854 through 1889. James B. Longacre’s obverse is an Indian princess. The reverse is a wreath and the denomination. It is not a gold dollar, and it is not a quarter eagle, even though drawers have mixed them up for a long time.
The photograph is an 1854 three-dollar piece from the National Numismatic Collection.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The denomination was struck first in 1854. The article prints Philadelphia deliveries that add to one year’s figure, plus New Orleans and Dahlonega counts for that year. Dies went south in later years and, the article says, sat unused. San Francisco coinage starts in 1855, and the article prints that year’s Philadelphia and San Francisco figures side by side.
Later Philadelphia figures in the same article are often described instead of tabulated. Two of them are rounded. They stay off. Three later years are given as circulation counts, and those three are rows. A Mint director’s career total for the whole denomination is not a year, so it is not a row either.
Design
Obverse: Indian princess, by James B. Longacre. Reverse: wreath, with the denomination in the center. In 1855 the letters of the denomination were enlarged. That is a reverse change, not a second series.
Look at the hair and the feathers, and at the wreath. A D is Dahlonega. An O is New Orleans. An S is San Francisco. No mark is Philadelphia.
People Also Ask
Why are most years missing?
The Wikipedia article does not print a full year table. It prints a few exact delivery and circulation figures. Only those are rows. Rounded phrases stay off.
Is the 1870 San Francisco coin on the chart?
No. The article discusses that coin and does not print an exact count in the sentences used here. A famous date is not a made-up row.
Why do people confuse this with a quarter eagle?
The princess head is related to the gold dollar, and the size is close enough to a quarter eagle that the article says the coin was unpopular for that reason. The reverse denomination is the check.
How much is a three-dollar piece worth?
This page does not print guide prices. The NGC US Coin Price Guide file retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include this series.
Collector Considerations
Read the reverse before you decide you have a quarter eagle. The princess also appears on the gold dollar, at a smaller size.
A missing year on this chart means the article did not print an exact cell. It does not mean the year was never struck. Do not fill the gap with a round number from a forum.
The Stella is the four-dollar pattern from the end of this era. It is not a three-dollar piece.
A Final Word
The three-dollar piece has a partial chart because the source is a narrative with a few exact figures. The other years wait for a table.
When you want the small princess, the gold dollar chart is the full circulation run.