Lot 1245
1855-C. NGC graded MS-62. Very Frosty and untoned. Only 9,803 struck. Reportedly because it was smaller and thicker than convenient, Mint Director Colonel James Ross Snowden instructed the coin department for the Gold Dollar to be redesigned in 1854, in order to accommodate an increase in diameter to 15 millimeters. Chief Engraver Longacre dutifully carried out this request, though his work was uncharacteristically slipshod and rushed-looking on this occasion. Longacre's Type 2 design was difficult to strike due to thinness, it wore down rapidly in circulation, and proved unsuccessful. These deficiencies affected all issues of this type, and they resulted in its replacement by the Type 3 design in 1856 (1857 for the San Francisco Mint).
Due to its brevity, there are only six coins in the Type 2 Gold Dollar series: 1854, 1855, 1855-C, 1855-D, 1855-O, and 1856-S. The '55-D is by far the rarest, followed by this desirable '55-C, '56-S and '55-O. Even the "common" 1854 and 1855 are relatively scarce coins in an absolute sense that are difficult to acquire in Mint State from a market availability standpoint. The 1855-C however, is legendary as a condition rarity in Mint condition. Pop 4; none finer at NGC. (PCGS # 7533) .
Troubles at the Mint: Upon receiving his post to Mint Director in 1853, Colonel James R. Snowden readied plans to modify the Gold Dollar that James B. Longacre had executed in 1849. To this end, Longacre increased the diameter of the denomination, as mentioned above, from 13 to 15 millimeters while he reduced the thickness proportionately. At the same time, he seized upon the opportunity to redesign both the obverse and reverse devices. The chief engraver altered the Gold Dollar's resemblance to the double eagle when he utilized his replica of the marble Venus Accroupie from the Three-dollar gold piece. The wreath is made up of corn, cotton, maple, and tobacco and is one that Longacre would in due course reacquaint the public with on the Flying Eagle cent and the new Type 2 Gold Dollar. Once the Treasury Department agreed to the changes, coinage began on August 19, 1854. Soon thereafter, the Mint discovered the new design's shortcoming: The relief of the obverse motif was too high. Longacre had situated it opposite the highest points of the reverse. This created poor metal flow into the die cavities, and even the capable Philadelphia Mint could not generate fully struck examples consistently. Most pieces emerged from all four Mints with weak devices, and rapidly wore down to illegibility. The barely identifiable survivors that the Mint retrieved from circulation were melted as hastily as they had been designed. After two years of production at Philadelphia and mere token outputs at the branch mints that extended into 1856, Longacre reworked the denomination and replaced it with the Type 3 Gold Dollar.
Estimated Value $26,000 - 28,000.
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