Hold the bus up one second..... I picked up an 1852 Liberty Head gold dollar at the show yesterday...... I have long owned an 1861 Princess Head dollar. While organizing my new coins it appeared to me that the two are different diameters. According to my Redbook they are struck to the same standards. In the second photo the Liberty is laid atop the Princess and you can clearly see the difference in diameter. So I have but two conclusions that I can see in my mind.... Either the Capital holder is adding a magnified quality to the Princess making her appear larger..... Or I was duped when I purchased the Liberty yesterday. Thing is, to all my observations, the Liberty Head appears genuine.
My apologies..... I read, “same standards as previous issue” in my book. I failed to read the next line. Excuse me while I go stand in the corner....... sorry for the wasted forum space.
You probably dont have calipers handy but if you did you could get a pretty close measurement on both coins through the packaging...then compare to known specs. According to the "unofficial data" in the Coin World Almanac gold dollars from 1849 to 1854 were 13.0 MM and weigh 1.672 grams. Gold dollars from 1854 to 1873 were 14.86 MM and 1.672 grams. So maybe it is a tad thinner/thicker?
Yes, type 1s are smaller than type 2/3 coins. I don’t have my reference books/Gold dollars handy, but Google agrees with me ;-)
Don't feel bad, Randy! In 1966, my Econ professor gave us a mid-term test. At the top of the page, you were instructed to "Read everything before you do anything." So, if you had followed the instructions, you would have signed your name to the top of the test and left the room. Only 5 students out of 30+ left the classroom! Chris
