Goldberg Coins and Collectibles

Sale 59

Pre-Long Beach Coin and Currency Auction

$3 Gold

Lot	Photo	Description	Realized
Lot 1535		1854 $3 Gold. NGC graded AU-58. Mostly untoned; light clash marks present around Liberty. Much reddish golden luster (PCGS # 7969) . Estimated Value $1,500 - 1,600. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,840
Lot 1536		1854 $3 Gold. VG-8. Evenly worn, no damage. Estimated Value $450 - 500. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $529
Lot 1537		1861 $3 Gold. NGC graded VF-35. Lightly toned. Only 5,959 pieces struck. One of the scarce Civil War dates. Other than for a couple of minor scuffs in the field below ST of STATES, surfaces exceedingly choice for the grade. Some luster present (PCGS # 7982) . Estimated Value $650 - 700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,615
Lot 1538		1866 $3 Gold. NGC graded AU-53. Only 4,030 minted of this important low-mintage issue struck in the troubled 1860s. Gold coin production was erratic in Philadelphia in the years from 1861 to 1878 due to dislocations in the gold market because of the fiat money greenbacks. Pop 13; 121 finer (PCGS # 7987) . Estimated Value $1,800 - 1,900. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1539		Withdrawn Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1540		1874 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. Mostly untoned. Only 41,800 struck. Not quite fully struck on the ribbon bow (reverse), and with just a narrow region of weakness found on the upper plumes of the headdress. Bright mint luster characterizes the surfaces on this lovely $3. Pop 91; 126 finer, 112 in 64, 12 in 65, 1 in 65 Star, and 1 in 66 (PCGS # 7998) . Estimated Value $4,500 - 4,800. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,830
Lot 1541		1874 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-62. Only 41,800 pieces struck. Light golden toning with semi-reflective surfaces (PCGS # 7998) . Estimated Value $3,000 - 3,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,335
Lot 1542		1874 $3 Gold. NGC graded AU-58. Evenly toned, lustrous, attractive fields and devices (PCGS # 7998) . Estimated Value $1,400 - 1,500. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $1,610
Lot 1543		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-65. Frosty with a hint of light golden toning that has a lovely pale rose colored blush to it. As a readily approachable date, the 1878 appears to have been saved in moderate numbers. As such, it should come as no surprise that this issue is one of the more plentiful Three-Dollar gold pieces in today's market, though Gem MS65s, as the figures below indicate, point to a strictly limited availability in this grade. There is much to recommend this piece to perceptive collectors, first and foremost of which is the high technical excellence. The strike is as close to full as one should expect for the type, with surfaces overlaid frosted luster including Liberty's cheek, neck and hair. There are virtually no abrasions. A very shallow frost-reduction line on Liberty's neck is the only worthwhile pedigree marker. Of course, the eye appeal is also worthy of praise. Indeed both sides being awash in golden color we have to rank this issue among the nicest MS65s that we have ever offered. Pop 147; 70 finer, 49 in 66, 6 in 66 Star, 11 in 67, 4 in 67 Star (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $10,000 - 12,000. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $13,225
Lot 1544		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-64. Mostly untoned with semi-reflective surfaces. This exceptionally pleasing MS64 example has shimmering luster over each side with subtle suggestions for even a higher grade. During the entire run of the $3 denomination the total business strike mintage amounted to only 538,074 coins. Proofs are estimated to have been struck in a quantity slightly over the 2,000 mark (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $5,500 - 5,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $6,900
Lot 1545		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. A hint of light gold tone. This lustrous Mint State displays beams of golden metallic detail in virtually all areas (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,830
Lot 1546		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. A hint of light gold tone. This is one of several lovely, healthy-glowing choice examples, whose full-gold color obverse and reverse being essentially untouched by the ravages of time, beams with frosty luster (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,830
Lot 1547		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. A hint of light gold tone. One of the better made gold-surfaced coins whose desirable depth of strike complements the equally choice mint bloom (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,715
Lot 1548		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. Frosty and untoned. A lustrous 1878 that has gleaming color and an ample strike. The $3 denomination was designed by James B. Longacre, who became chief engraver at the Mint in 1844, after the death of Christian Gobrecht. The obverse features the head of Liberty as an Indian princess, facing left, wearing a feathered headdress upon which is a band inscribed LIBERTY. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds. The same motif was later used on the Type III gold dollar 1856-1889. Neither IN GOD WE TRUST nor E PLURIBUS UNUM appears on the coin (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,830
Lot 1549		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. A hint of light gold tone, warm in its lovely saturation and beaming bright from the underlying frosted surface. The reverse displays an "agricultural wreath" enclosing 3 DOLLARS and the date. The reverse wreath was later used on the Flying Eagle cents of 1856-1858. As is demonstrated, Longacre liked to copy his own work (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,830
Lot 1550		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. Mostly untoned, and pulsating with lovely reddish-gold color, the surfaces are free of bothersome striking incompleteness. Struck carefully by the dies (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,945
Lot 1551		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. Untoned and frosty with only one minor scuff in the luster by the last feather. Among later Philadelphia Mint coins, mintages were very low, save for 41,800 struck in 1874 and 82,304 in 1878. Regarding these two higher-mintage dates, it is likely that thoughts of the resumption of payments of gold coins at par, which had not been possible since December 28, 1861, would create a demand for $3 pieces. However, the experts at the Treasury Department were mistaken, and no widespread interest ever developed (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,830
Lot 1552		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-63. Untoned. Gold-gold satin frost is boldly hypnotic on this fresh-appearing 1878 $3. Even the finest detail seen on this coin struck with uncommon exactness for an issue that is sometimes weak in a few areas (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $4,000 - 4,200. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $4,830
Lot 1553		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-62. Untoned and frosty. The $3 gold piece was authorized by the Act of February 21, 1853, a very important piece of legislation from a numismatic viewpoint, an act which also affected the silver coinage, namely the reduction in weight of the half dime, dime, quarter, and half dollar, and the addition of arrows alongside the date to indicate the new standard. At the time of its introduction, 1854, the $3 had as a close companion -- the long established $2.50 quarter eagle. The series ended in 1889 (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,220
Lot 1554		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-62. Lightly toned and frosty, the color a warm reddish golden hue (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,220
Lot 1555		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-62. A hint of light gold tone. Since our observation is that this date is rarely fully struck, then this above-average coin has every suggestion of precision manufacture as seen in main elements of the design (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $3,220
Lot 1556		1878 $3 Gold. PCGS graded MS-62. A nice frosty coin of a readily available date, the one most collectors pick to represent this odd $3 denomination (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $2,600 - 2,700. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1557		1878 $3 Gold. NGC graded MS-61. Nice golden toning. One of several nice Uncirculated examples of this unusual denomination we offer in this sale. Popular for use in a 12-piece U.S. gold Type Set (PCGS # 8000) . Estimated Value $2,000 - 2,100. View details and enlarged photos Check results on similar lots	Realized $2,358
Lot 1558		1878 $3. AU50. Nice golden toning, luster in the protected areas. Estimated Value $1,000 - 1,050. View details and enlarged photos	Realized $1,035
Lot 1559		Withdrawn Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1560		Withdrawn Check results on similar lots	Unsold
Lot 1561		A Pair of $3 Gold Coins. Consists of: 1857 sharpness of VF cleaned and solder on the rim and 1861 sharpness of VF cleaned. Estimated Value $300 - 350. View details	Realized $1,380