Gold dollar

For the modern gold-colored dollar series, see Dollar coin (United States).

Gold dollar ($1)
United States
Value1 United States dollar
Mass1.672 g
DiameterFor Type 1, 12.7 mm. For Types 2 and 3, 14.3 mm (For Type 1, .500 inch. For types 2 and 3, .563 in)
EdgeReeded
Composition90% gold, 10% copper
Gold.04837 troy oz
Years of minting1849 (1849)–1889 (1889)
Mint marksC, D, O, S. Found immediately below the wreath on the reverse. Philadelphia Mint pieces lack mint mark.
Obverse
NNC-US-1849-G$1-Liberty head (Ty1).jpg
DesignLiberty wearing a coronet. Type 1.
DesignerJames B. Longacre
Design date1849
Design discontinued1854
NNC-US-1854-G$1-Indian head (Ty2).jpg
DesignLiberty as an Indian princess. Type 2 (small head)
DesignerJames B. Longacre
Design date1854
Design discontinued1856
NNC-US-1856-G$1-Indian head (Ty3).jpg
DesignType 3 (large head)
DesignerJames B. Longacre
Design date1856
Design discontinued1889
Reverse
NNC-US-1849-G$1-Liberty head (Ty1).jpg
DesignType 1
DesignerPeter Filatreu Cross
Design date1849
Design discontinued1854
NNC-US-1854-G$1-Indian head (Ty2).jpg
DesignTypes 2 and 3
DesignerJames B. Longacre
Design date1854
Design discontinued1889

The gold dollar or gold one-dollar piece is a gold coin that was struck as a regular issue by the United States Bureau of the Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin had three types over its lifetime, all designed by Mint Chief Engraver James B. Longacre. The Type 1 issue has the smallest diameter (0.5 inch =12.7mm) of any United States coin minted to date.

A gold dollar coin had been proposed several times in the 1830s and 1840s, but was not initially adopted. Congress was finally galvanized into action by the increased supply of bullion caused by the California gold rush, and in 1849 authorized a gold dollar. In its early years, silver coins were being hoarded or exported, and the gold dollar found a ready place in commerce. Silver again circulated after Congress in 1853 required that new coins of that metal be made lighter, and the gold dollar became a rarity in commerce even before federal coins vanished from circulation because of the economic disruption caused by the American Civil War.

Gold did not again circulate in most of the nation until 1879; once it did, the gold dollar did not regain its place. In its final years, it was struck in small numbers, causing speculation by hoarders. It was also in demand to be mounted in jewelry. The regular issue gold dollar was last struck in 1889; the following year, Congress ended the series.

Damaged common date gold dollars tend to be worth anywhere from melt value to about US$110 (as of 2017); common dates of higher circulated grades sell for about US$200 while rarer coins in high grades can be worth up to many thousands.