Remarkable Strike and Condition Rarity 1854 Type II Gold Dollar
Unique PL Designation from PCGS
1854 Gold Dollar. Type II. MS-64 PL (PCGS).
A remarkable and thoroughly superior example of this brief and challenging circulating gold dollar design type. The strike is exceptional with virtually full definition that even extends into the centers, where the hair strands along Liberty's brow and above the ear are crisply delineated, and the letters LL in DOLLAR and digits 85 in the date show none of the softness and granularity typically seen in Type II gold dollars. Only at the lower left obverse border do we see a touch of granularity, which engages and weakens the I in UNITED, although the letter is still easily discernible. The often-seen clash marks (as made) are present, but minimally so, and one will really need a loupe to discern faint traces of these in the field areas around the central design elements. Equally as noteworthy as the strike is the finish, which is uncommonly reflective in the fields, and enough so to distinguish this special coin as the only Type II gold dollar of any issue to have received a coveted PL designation from PCGS as of this writing (6/8/2024). The devices have a soft satin finish, and the interplay between these two textures provides a modest, yet appreciable cameo contrast as the coin rotates under a light. Expertly preserved, nearly blemish free and dressed in pretty pinkish-orange color, this coin is very close to full Gem Mint State in quality. In terms of eye appeal it is equal, if not superior to many Type II gold dollars in MS-65 holders that we have offered through the years. The Act of February 21, 1853, returned silver coinage to circulation in the East and Midwest by reducing the weight of the half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar to the point where their face value exceeded their bullion value. The coins were made subsidiary and were able to circulate freely in those areas for the first time since 1849. Mintages for all denominations from the half dime through the half dollar increased dramatically in 1853, with the Philadelphia Mint in particular churning out huge quantities of these coins. The effects on the gold dollar were significant and immediate, perhaps not surprising since the gold dollar was created in 1849 as a new denomination for coining California metal and also to help fill the void in commercial channels left by the withdrawal of silver. With silver coins returning to circulation in large numbers, the need for the gold dollar diminished rapidly. Yearly mintages at the Philadelphia Mint tapered off and by 1858 and through the end of the decade that facility was producing fewer than 200,000 examples per year. (The mintage for the 1860 amounted to a mere 36,514 pieces.) Additionally, the gold dollar's small size was an issue, but with few alternatives in circulation during the early 1850s, the public was accepting. In 1854 Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre prepared a new design with an enlarged diameter of 15 millimeters, more convenient than the earlier size. The weight of the denomination remained unchanged, so the coins were made slightly thinner. Unfortunately, the design that Longacre chose, although aesthetically pleasing, was in too high relief for the thinner planchets, and most examples displayed poor definition in and around the centers. The dies often clashed early and frequently during press runs, and many survivors exhibit numerous pronounced clash marks on one or (usually) both sides. The Mint abandoned the new design after only three years of production, and in the third - 1856 - only the San Francisco Mint struck examples of this type. Known in numismatic circles as the Type II gold dollar, mintages were generous only at the Philadelphia Mint in 1854 and 1855. The New Orleans and San Francisco mints achieved only modest deliveries in 1855 and 1856, respectively, while production at both the Charlotte and Dahlonega facilities in 1855 were extremely limited (the 1855-D, for example, has a mintage of just 1,811 pieces). The 1854 and 1855 Philadelphia Mint issues are the obvious choices for representing this design in a gold type set and, indeed, examples are obtainable with ease in circulated grades. In lower Mint State grades the 1854 and 1855 issues are also plentiful, although the brevity of the type and its scarcity explains the premium enjoyed by these issues even in grades such as MS-61 and MS-62. The true rarity of the 1854 and 1855 Type II gold dollars emerges at and above the uppermost echelons of Choice Mint State, where the striking problems combined with limited contemporary interest in preserving these coins explains the paucity of truly superb survivors.
PCGS# 87531. NGC ID: 25C3.