Most collectors are content to own a single example of James B. Longacre’s Indian Head gold $3 coin for type purposes. It’s an expensive series to collect and its four-decade span, between 1854 and 1889, makes it a challenging set to complete. 

Three U.S. Mints struck gold $3 coins in 1854: the most common are the Philadelphia Mint issues, followed by the New Orleans Mint pieces.

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The rarest of the three are the 1,120 $3 gold coins struck at the Dahlonega Mint in Georgia, of which perhaps fewer than 200 survive today. The issue is the sole representative of the “D” Mint mark on the denomination and is collected by both series specialists and those who collect Dahlonega Mint gold. 

Heritage offered a lightly circulated Professional Coin Grading Service About Uncirculated 55 1854-D Indian Head $3 coin at its April 25 Platinum Night auction at the Central States Numismatic Society convention in metropolitan Chicago.

Since Mint State survivors are prohibitively rare, even specialists must be content with a bit of wear at the high points, although the issue typically has a weak obverse strike which makes grading this issue a challenge. The offered $3 piece was described as having “satiny honey-gold surfaces with hints of luster in the protected areas,” and it brought $43,200. 

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