You’ve probably heard of silver dollars, but what about gold dollars?
Although gold dollar coins may not be as widely collected as Morgan dollars and Peace dollars (both popular silver dollars), in their heyday, gold dollars saw circulation from coast to coast and were very important coins in commerce.
These tiny (smaller than a U.S. dime) gold dollar coins represented a lot of purchasing power in their day, and they were quite popular with the masses!
Gold Dollar Coins: Small But Popular
The Act of March 3, 1849, authorized the production of gold dollars.
Gold dollar coins were minted from 1849 through 1889.
During that time, gold dollar coin production went into the millions during several years. And several U.S. Mint facilities struck gold dollars over the course of their history.
You can find the mintmark on a gold dollar below the wreath on the reverse (tails side) of the coin:
- Philadelphia (no mintmark)
- Charlotte (C)
- Dahlonega (D)
- New Orleans (O)
- San Francisco (S)
Gold dollar coins are small — far tinier than their silver dollar counterparts. At only 13 to 15 millimeters wide and weighing in at just 1.672 grams, gold dollars are dwarfed by most other coins.
In fact, Type 1 gold dollar coins are the smallest U.S. coins ever minted! (More about Type I, II, and III dollar coins below.)
To give you an idea of size… all U.S. dimes from 1829 to the present are 17.9 millimeters wide!
3 Different Types Of Gold Dollars
If you’re collecting by type, there are 3 different varieties of gold dollars that you’ll be searching for:
Type I: Liberty Head (1849 to 1854)
Type II: Small Indian Princess Head (1854 to 1856)
Type III: Large Indian Princess Head (1856 to 1889)
Depending on how you’re planning to collect gold dollar coins, you may want to purchase one of each design type. Or, perhaps you’ll even try for one of each date and mintmark.
While there was a significant design change between Type I and Type II gold dollars, another major difference between the two is the diameter of the coin:
- Type I gold dollars measure 13 millimeters wide
- Type II and Type III gold dollars are 15 millimeters wide
James B. Longacre designed each of the different gold dollar designs. If his name sounds familiar, it’s probably because he also designed other coins, including:
- Flying Eagle cent
- Indian Head penny
- Two Cent coin
- Silver Three Cent trime
- Three Cent nickel
- Shield nickel
- Liberty Head double eagle
Where To Find Gold Dollar Coins
Gold dollar coins are, as a type, easy enough to find.
Most coin dealers who sell gold coins will have some gold dollars to choose from, too.
However, in the gold dollar series, there are some very scarce dates that will be difficult to locate.
How Much is A Gold Dollar Coin Worth?
Gold dollar prices tend to swing up and down a bit, based on the current price of gold bullion.
However, you’ll notice that gold dollar prices typically change much more subtly than larger gold coins (like the double eagle) when bullion prices fluctuate.
To give you an example… If gold is at $4,500 an ounce, the amount of gold in a gold dollar coin would be worth around $200.
However, the numismatic value of these coins pushes prices much higher!
A common-date worn example of a gold dollar will set you back anywhere between $375 and $550.
Here’s a look at the values of the scarcer gold dollars:
- 1849-C Close Wreath: $3,500+
- 1849-D Open Wreath: $3,000+
- 1850-C: $2,300+
- 1850-D: $3,000+
- 1851-C: $1,450
- 1851-D: $2,000+
- 1852-C: $2,000+
- 1852-D: $2,500+
- 1853-C: $3,000+
- 1853-D: $3,000+
- 1854-D: $5,500+
- 1855-C: $4,500+
- 1855-D: $20,000+
- 1856-D: $7,500+
- 1857-C: $3,000+
- 1857-D: $3,750+
- 1858-D: $4,000+
- 1859-C: $3,300+
- 1859-D: $3,250+
- 1860-D: $6,000+
- 1861-D: $50,000+
- 1875: $5,500+
*Prices are for gold dollar coins in Very Fine to Extremely Fine grade.
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