Description
The $3 Indian Princess is
considered one of the most unusual coins the United States Mint has
ever produced. Designer James B. Longacre was faced with the challenge
of creating a coin that could be differentiated from $2.50 and $5
Liberty gold coins, in size, weight, and design. Longacre met this
challenge in creating the only $3 U.S. coin ever minted.
Design
The $3 gold piece, although
minted during the years of the Liberty series of gold coins, is
commonly referred to as the Indian Princess due to the design on the
front of the coin. Miss Liberty is depicted as an Indian Princess with
her hair tightly curled above her neck and her head crowned with a
circle of feathers. The band on her forehead is inscribed with the word
'Liberty'.
The reverse features a wreath of tobacco, wheat, corn, and cotton '
the principle cash crops of the time ' encircling the denomination ("3
DOLLARS") and the date.
Minting Information
Although no one is
certain as to why this coin was originally created, some numismatists
believe it was for the purchase of 3-cent postage stamps in sheets of
100. Others theorize that it was to ease the purchase of 3-cent silver
pieces in 100-coin rolls. Whatever the reason, the $3 gold piece was
minted for only 36 years, making it the shortest-lived of any
denomination of gold coin released for general circulation in United
State history.
| Detailed Coin Information |
| Designer: James B. Longacre |
| Gross Weight: 5.015g |
Gold Content: 0.14512 oz. |
| Composition: 90% gold, 10% copper |
| Diameter: 20.5mm |
Edge: Reeded |
| Dates: 1854-1889 |
Mints: Dahlonega (1854), New Orleans (1854), Philadelphia (all dates*), San Francisco (1855-57; 1860; 1870^)
* Only proofs were produced in 1875 and 1876.
^ Only 1 1870-S coin was produced. |
