1853-D Gold Dollar Brings Back Memories.

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by johnmilton, Mar 24, 2019.

  1. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    One of the first U.S. gold coins that I can remember seeing was an 1853-D gold dollar. My mother’s cleaning lady had four gold dollars that were family heirlooms. In the spring of 1960, she brought them with her to show me. I had only been collecting for a few months and seeing those pieces was a revelation. I could not believe how small they were, and one of them caught my eye.

    When I looked on the reverse I saw the date 1853 and a “D” mint mark under the wreath. When I looked it up on my 13th Edition of “The Red Book,” I saw that it was something special.

    Although the cleaning lady did sell many coins to me, she would not part with the gold dollars. Finally when she was short of funds, she did sell me one piece, an 1854 Type II that graded VF-20 or so. The date was very weak which made it less than totally desirable, but it was my first gold coin. I never could get her to sell the 1853-D however.

    Word had it that one of the men in town had offered her $50 for that piece. That might not sound like much today, but back then that was the going price listed in “The Red Book,” and $50 was a week’s wages or more for a lot people in my area.

    When I started working on a date and mint set of the Type I gold dollars, I finally got an 1853-D I bought it at the 2014 Winter FUN Show. It grades AU-58, and it’s probably nicer than the one I saw when I was 11 years old, but it still brings back memories.

    1853-D AU Dollar O.jpg 1853-D AU Dollar R.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 24, 2019
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  3. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    The spring of 1860?????

    Chris;)
     
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  4. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    To have seen that coin in 1860 and lived long enough to write about it today makes you more of a fascination than the coin itself.
     
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  5. ToughCOINS

    ToughCOINS Dealer Member Moderator

    Ya beat me to it Chris.
     
  6. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    Chris_ANA_1977LGbronze_MS67.jpg

    I've always wished that I could have a gold coin from the Dahlonega Mint.

    Chris
     
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  7. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    THUMBS UP!.png
     
  8. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    Some people might say that I am stuck in the 19th century, but thanks for spotting it. I am sorry tjat it took attention away from what I wanted to say.
     
    Randy Abercrombie likes this.
  9. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

  10. IBetASilverDollar

    IBetASilverDollar Well-Known Member

    Very cool. I'm surprised to see the prices these go for are somewhat reasonable for their rarity (assuming PCGS' estimate is somewhat close at 125 survivors). Compare it to 20th century "key dates" and it's a bit mind boggling to me. I know which coin I'd rather have, guess the majority doesn't agree.
     
  11. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    Thank you!

    It's from the 3-medal set for the ANA Convention that year. The set consists of 38mm silver, 38mm bronze and 19mm bronze. The images are courtesy of Bob Campbell.

    Chris_ANA_1977LGsilver_PF67UC.jpg
    Chris_ANA_1977SMbronze_MS68.jpg
     
  12. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    It absolutely DID NOT! I thoroughly enjoy all of your stories no matter how old you are.

    Chris
     
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  13. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    The 1853-D is one of the more common Dahlonega Mint gold dollars. The specialists generally rate the 1850-D has the toughest date among the Type I series. Adding to the rarity of the 1850-D is the fact it was a poorly made issue. Overall the 1855-D and 1861-D dollars get the top billing.
     
  14. Evan8

    Evan8 A Little Off Center

    Very neat story. One of my problems when it comes to small gold coins, is that so many are damaged from being used as jewelry. It turned me off from collecting them.

    All of your coins have been a real treat to see.
     
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  15. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    Here is an 1850-D gold dollar. This is graded EF-45 which is accurate. There are touches of mint luster around the devices, especially on the reverse.

    1850-D Gold Dollar O.jpg 1850-D Gold Dollar R.jpg
     
  16. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    Geez, I guess it would cost a small fortune to build a complete set of TY1, TY2 & TY3 just in EF!

    Which of the three Types do you think would be the easiest to build (based only on condition)?

    Chris
     
  17. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    From the financial perspective, it is probably close to a tie between the Type I and Type II gold dollars. There are only six coins in the Type II gold dollar set, but type collectors have driven up the prices for the fairly common Philadelphia Mint coins, and the 1855-C and especially the 1855-D, with about 80 to 85 examples known, are real bears.

    The Type I one set has more coins, but most of them would be less expensive. The 1849-C Open Wreath is a rarity with only 4, maybe 5, pieces known, but most collectors simply call that one "uncollectable" because of its rarity and ignore it.

    There are some very bueatiful Type III gold dollars from the 1880s, and a "short set" of those could be an option. That's what I did. For me the 1856-D and 1861-D gold dollars were the "stoppers" that said to me, "You can't complete this set." The 1876, with a mintage of only 400 pieces, is also a "stopper."
     
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  18. cpm9ball

    cpm9ball CANNOT RE-MEMBER

    I guess my best option would be to win the Powerball, first.

    Thanks, John!

    Chris
     
  19. TypeCoin971793

    TypeCoin971793 Just a random guy on the internet

    That one is really well struck for a Dahlonega-mint coin. Very nice!
     
  20. johnmilton

    johnmilton Well-Known Member

    Correction!

    I should have typed 1875 instead of 1876 for my mintage total of 400 in my previous post.
     
  21. Mainebill

    Mainebill Bethany Danielle

    Yes but in 1860 Doug was already old
     
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