Coin Community Family of Web Sites
FactoryPin — Custom challenge coins for military, police, and organizations. Global shipping, affordable prices, special discounts for service members!  Specializing in Modern Numismatics Coin, Banknote and Medal Collectors's Online Mall 300,000 items to help build your collection! Royal Canadian Mint products, Canadian, Polish, American, and world coins and banknotes. Vancouvers #1 Coin and Paper Money Dealer
Username:
Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?


This page may contain links that result in small commissions to keep this free site up and running.

Welcome Guest! Register Now! It's free!
Registering will remove the anchor ads and vignette (between pages) ads.

1857 Type 3 Gold Dollar For Grading

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.
Author Previous TopicReplies: 5 / Views: 483Next Topic  
Pillar of the Community
fortcollins's Avatar
United States
3059 Posts
 Posted 04/11/2025  12:25 pm Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add fortcollins to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
I'm posting some of the coins I snagged at an estate sale several months ago. It is one of the strangest assortment of coins I've encountered, but there have been some very nice coins in the mix. This isn't one of them, however. At best, it's a badly mauled details common date 1857 Type 3 dollar.

I have several questions here, and the first is authenticity. I hesitate on this one. It is spot on for composition, .900 Au and just under .100 Cu, with trace elements as a small remainder. The weight is squarely within mint tolerance, 1.66 g, about what would be expected for a circulated gold dollar. The reeding looks correct. That said, it is a particularly mushy strike with a surprising amount of Machine Doubling. There is extensive clashing. It obviously had a loop removed, so it did its time as jewelry. There were thousands of counterfeits made in the 1870s-1890s for jewelry purposes, and ironically many of them are 22k (.9167 fine), rather than coin fineness. This could well be a jewelry counterfeit.

The second question is the area beneath the bow. There is something there. To my eyes it is just a die clash, but the shape could suggest a Charlotte mint mark. I have never seen a weak Charlotte mm on a gold dollar, and this would have to be an extremely weak mm. My hunch is just clashing, but I would welcome all opinions on this.

The third question, assuming authenticity, is grade. It obviously is a details coin.

I appreciate the help here!

Here are the whole coin photos.


Here is the area where the loop was attached.

Here is the area beneath the bow.

Pillar of the Community
United States
528 Posts
 Posted 04/11/2025  5:45 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add adam126402 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Looks legit to me. Yes, details. Grade I'd say VF. Also, the reverse clashing and die cracks match this PCGS AU55 certification 31753417.
Edited by adam126402
04/11/2025 5:53 pm
Pillar of the Community
fortcollins's Avatar
United States
3059 Posts
 Posted 04/11/2025  6:03 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add fortcollins to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply


Thank you @adam126402 very much!
Bedrock of the Community
BH1964's Avatar
United States
10922 Posts
 Posted 04/11/2025  8:14 pm  Show Profile   Check BH1964's eBay Listings Bookmark this reply Add BH1964 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I don't see anything under the bow. It does appear to be a VF+ details, genuine, damaged 1857 G$1. :)
ANA #R3154474
Pillar of the Community
fortcollins's Avatar
United States
3059 Posts
 Posted 04/12/2025  11:04 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add fortcollins to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Thank you @BH1964! I appreciate your help!

It always amazes me the difficult choices people had for a dollar in that era. They could carry a clunky silver dollar that nobody really wanted. They could accept paper money from banks that could well be insolvent. They could take one of these tiny critters and hope they didn't lose it. Or they could receive a handful of change that could still have included foreign coins, hard times tokens, Half Cents, large and small cents, trade tokens, tiny silver treys and Half Dimes and who knows what else.
Pillar of the Community
United States
528 Posts
 Posted 04/12/2025  1:31 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add adam126402 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I do see what looks like some clashing below the bow, but of what I'm not sure. Maybe one of the photo experts on here could show us an overlay image of what the observe clash would look like.
  Previous TopicReplies: 5 / Views: 483Next Topic  

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.



    





Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2025 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us  |  Advertise Here  |  Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum © 2005 - 2025 Coin Community Forums
It took 0.22 seconds to rattle this change. Forums