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Have $3 golds had their day?

topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭

Sure seems like it.
:/

«1

Comments

  • topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭

    And authentic, too. :)

  • Cougar1978Cougar1978 Posts: 8,714 ✭✭✭✭✭

    There is demand for them from type collectors.

    Coins & Currency
  • 291fifth291fifth Posts: 24,584 ✭✭✭✭✭

    My local stagecoach still takes them.

    All glory is fleeting.
  • BryceMBryceM Posts: 11,850 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Did they ever have a "day"?

  • blitzdudeblitzdude Posts: 6,371 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'll take them at spot.

    The whole worlds off its rocker, buy Gold™.
    BOOMIN!™
    Wooooha! Did someone just say it's officially "TACO™" Tuesday????

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,667 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It’s a scarce gold type coin, but the “action” is not in the area when “John Q. Sixpack” is trying to complete a “dream gold type set.” The “mid area” collector seems to be disappearing. Now it’s “5-figure + trophy coins.”

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,401 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 3, 2019 6:06PM

    @CaptHenway said:
    Yeah, I hardly ever get them in change anymore! The $3 bill is much more popular!

    POTD!

    Got a good laugh out of this. Thanks!

  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,401 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Interesting to note that Legend has a single $3 gold while Doug Winter as none.

  • DCWDCW Posts: 7,563 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Maybe it's time to back up the truck while everyone else is chasing other things.

    Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
    "Coin collecting for outcasts..."

  • matt_dacmatt_dac Posts: 961 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I was happy to get my type example, and they are are not exactly cheap, >$1000 for common date AU’s for example.

  • topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I'd blow a trompet too if mine looked like that. :p

  • MrEurekaMrEureka Posts: 24,391 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I think they're a great series to collect and will always be in demand. Really tough to do if you insist on perfectly original coins, but it can be done.

    Andy Lustig

    Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.

    Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,401 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 3, 2019 7:41PM

    @Zoins said:
    This thread needs pics.

    Here's the Ed Trompeter specimen:

    Looks like this is Ex. Guttag Bros; Garrett; Buddy Ebsen.

    Here it is with the pedigree attached:

  • northcoinnorthcoin Posts: 4,987 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Justacommeman said:

    @291fifth said:
    My local stagecoach still takes them.

    So does my stupid Post Office. Literally

    m

    The post office is still stocking 3 cent stamps? Wasn't that one of the justifications for minting them in the first place or am I confusing with the 3 cent piece?

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,705 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @MrEureka said:
    I think they're a great series to collect and will always be in demand. Really tough to do if you insist on perfectly original coins, but it can be done.

    Only one person can have a complete set of G$3 since the 1870-S is unique. Of course all the others can be bought with some patience and a big bank roll.

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • MWallaceMWallace Posts: 4,307 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Cougar1978 said:
    There is demand for them from type collectors.

    Yes. I have added one to my collection recently.

  • PerryHallPerryHall Posts: 46,705 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @blitzdude said:
    I'll take them at spot.

    You and everyone else. You're one funny guy. LO.L. :D

    Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
    "Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
    "Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire

  • rickoricko Posts: 98,724 ✭✭✭✭✭

    They are really nice gold coins... but I prefer the large gold coins... just something about the heft of them in hand...Cheers, RickO

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,667 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @BryceM said:
    Did they ever have a "day"?

    Yes. When I was in high school and college, the Three Dollar Gold Piece and the Type II Gold Dollar were THE coins to get for the 12 piece type set. Back then a nice AU cost about $300 which was quite a bit of money in the late 1960s. Mint State coins were in the $350 to $400 range. Very few people were collecting them as a set, however, so the better date Philadelphia Mint were not that much more expensive.

    The post office is still stocking 3 cent stamps? Wasn't that one of the justifications for minting them in the first place or am I confusing with the 3 cent piece?

    According to Roget Burdette, the real reason for the $3 gold coin was that it facilitated making change within the gold coin series. I suppose that a $3 coin might have seemed to have been of more use than a $2.50 coin, but the idea never caught on.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • YorkshiremanYorkshireman Posts: 4,583 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @ricko said:
    They are really nice gold coins... but I prefer the large gold coins... just something about the heft of them in hand...Cheers, RickO

    I agree with RickO. I love the obverse design but prefer larger coins. $10’s are the perfect size in my opinion.

    Yorkshireman,Obsessed collector of round, metallic pieces of history.Hunting for Latin American colonial portraits plus cool US & British coins.
  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,622 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I remember as a young collector back in the 1960's when I bought my first gold coin (a nice BU 1900-S $20 for $50 in May of 1966) thinking that I would like to complete a 12-piece type set someday, but within a few years I was paying my own way through college and never had any money to spare.

    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CaptHenway said:
    I remember as a young collector back in the 1960's when I bought my first gold coin (a nice BU 1900-S $20 for $50 in May of 1966) thinking that I would like to complete a 12-piece type set someday, but within a few years I was paying my own way through college and never had any money to spare.

    And then.... suddenly.... on that box of Cheerios..... ;)

  • topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Where did they find that goofy headdress for both of them? :#

  • johnny9434johnny9434 Posts: 29,059 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @CaptHenway said:
    I remember as a young collector back in the 1960's when I bought my first gold coin (a nice BU 1900-S $20 for $50 in May of 1966) thinking that I would like to complete a 12-piece type set someday, but within a few years I was paying my own way through college and never had any money to spare.

    I think the value of an education out weighed it. jmo ( no harm intended )

  • JustacommemanJustacommeman Posts: 22,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 4, 2019 11:10AM

    @northcoin said:

    @Justacommeman said:

    @291fifth said:
    My local stagecoach still takes them.

    So does my stupid Post Office. Literally

    m

    The post office is still stocking 3 cent stamps? Wasn't that one of the justifications for minting them in the first place or am I confusing with the 3 cent piece?

    No. Just the assertion that if I mailed my $3.00 piece from my post office it’s 50/50 that somebody there would take it. Just a play on words if you re read my post

    m

    Walker Proof Digital Album
    Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
  • PhilLynottPhilLynott Posts: 895 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 4, 2019 12:43PM

    A $3 type coin was one of my targets at central states and I learned first hand how hard it is to find one that has it all going for it (for the grade) at a reasonable price (relative to the fact that it was all there wasn’t trying find great stuff on sale). Think I looked at a couple dozen in the HA lot viewing and narrowed it down to a couple I hoped would be in budget but weren’t close when it was all said and done. Seemed to be the theme of my week there.

  • BillJonesBillJones Posts: 34,667 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @PhilLynott said:
    A $3 type coin was one of my targets at central states and I learned first hand how hard it is to find one that has it all going for it (for the grade) at a reasonable price (relative to the fact that it was all there wasn’t trying find great stuff on sale). Think I looked at a couple dozen in the HA lot viewing and narrowed it down to a couple I hoped would be in budget but weren’t close when it was all said and done. Seemed to be the theme of my week there.

    I have been there and know how you feel.

    Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
  • topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Fine with me and not all that spendy. :)

  • northcoinnorthcoin Posts: 4,987 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 4, 2019 2:44PM

    For a contrarian view, the limited number who collect the $3 gold piece beyond just for a type set have enabled my collection to rank high as a Registry Set.

    Currently there are 56 $3 Gold Major Sets and in my category of 17 I am ranked #10. At one point, to the best of my recollection, I had been in the top three or four. I could probably move back up at least some by getting all of my $3 gold pieces into PCGS holders.

    My most unusual $3 is not actually gold. It is a $3 pattern in copper designated as 1865 Proof 63 BN from the Pittman Collection. (Judd 441).

    My top pop $3 gold is a MS 64 1864 as one of 6 64s with only 5 higher. The total mintage was 2,630. If I recall correctly I acquired it from Doug Winter who was ironically mentioned in Zoins's second post above as now having none. I believe Doug felt it was under graded at the time so I guess I should eventually have PCGS take another look at it or at least have it examined by JA for a sticker. (There are no PCGS 64+ and I see the most recent auction result (8/16 SB) for a 65 was north of $44,000.)

  • ElmhurstElmhurst Posts: 795 ✭✭✭

    I have a couple and wouldn't mind having more. Mr. Winter's website says that these are showing some new interest now, but I don't know beyond that.

  • JustacommemanJustacommeman Posts: 22,852 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Elmhurst said:
    I have a couple and wouldn't mind having more. Mr. Winter's website says that these are showing some new interest now, but I don't know beyond that.

    Funny I was just about to quote Doug.

    “As a rare date gold specialist, I am aware that the Three Dollar series is finally showing signs of life after years of stagnation.”

    Walker Proof Digital Album
    Fellas, leave the tight pants to the ladies. If I can count the coins in your pockets you better use them to call a tailor. Stay thirsty my friends......
  • giorgio11giorgio11 Posts: 3,934 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 5, 2019 5:26AM

    This is a favorite coin that we currently have in our inventory. Not shilling to sell it, just sayin' I love the design, I love all odd denominations, and I think it's a super-looking example. Your mileage may differ.

    EDIT: And oh yeah, it's a (minor) first-year subtype.

    Kind regards,

    George

    VDBCoins.com Our Registry Sets Many successful BSTs; pls ask.
  • RogerBRogerB Posts: 8,852 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 5, 2019 4:40PM

    They never really had a "day." It was more like a late breakfast, then rain, and finally a sunset in a necklace.

    Three dollar gold coins were never a useful denomination. They were part of a pie-in-the-sky plan to remove $1, $2 and $3 banknotes from circulation. The goal was to give people hard money in place of paper of uncertain value and longevity.

    Like $1 gold, the $3 found primary use in jewelry, especially in Britain.

  • roadrunnerroadrunner Posts: 28,313 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Oh, they had their day alright....and what a day they had. And apparently they prospered on hype...and died by the pops.

    Think back to fall of 2009 when MS65's were bringing $32,000 on the sheets...with people tripping over themselves to get them. Look at them today...in the toilet for the past 5+ years. The population reports have shown that even choice to gem common date $3's aren't nearly as rare as they were thought to be. You can apply that thought to the entire gold type coin market....and even the silver type coin markets.

    $3 date sets will survive because of so many better dates. But type coins have been nailed to the wall.

    Barbarous Relic No More, LSCC -GoldSeek--shadow stats--SafeHaven--321gold
  • CaptainBluntCaptainBlunt Posts: 199 ✭✭✭

    They found a number of circulated
    1856 S $3 gold pieces at the SSCA wreck site in 2014.

    Those coins did not call my name.

    I know they also recovered an 1857 S $3 in MS 65 and a beautiful
    example which graded PCGS MS 67

    This must have carried a steep price
    tag. I don’t know if it found a home

  • ArizonaRareCoinsArizonaRareCoins Posts: 679 ✭✭✭✭

    The $3 Gold market received a death-blow back in the summer of 2016 when the "The Twelve Oaks Collection" was auctioned and flooded the market with thousands of common date $3's.

  • matt_dacmatt_dac Posts: 961 ✭✭✭✭✭

    This is mine, apologies for the iPhone pics:

  • WaterSportWaterSport Posts: 6,894 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited May 7, 2019 6:08AM

    Heck - I don't own 1. But I own 2 one dollar gold pieces -does that almost count ???. MS 62
    WS

    Proud recipient of the coveted PCGS Forum "You Suck" Award Thursday July 19, 2007 11:33 PM and December 30th, 2011 at 8:50 PM.
  • ElmerFusterpuckElmerFusterpuck Posts: 4,774 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I know when I bought mine last year (for type), I saw how much less these coins were than from a few years back. I ended up with an 1856 in PCGS AU-58 and CAC, plus a nice 1854 in PCGS AU-55 for around $900.

  • CaptHenwayCaptHenway Posts: 32,622 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I used to own these, Longacre's original wax models for the $3 gold piece. Sculpted in red wax on large bronze mint medal planchets, approx. 4-1/2 inches each as I recall. You can see my article on them in the October, 1985 The Numismatist. TD

    Numismatist. 50 year member ANA. Winner of four ANA Heath Literary Awards; three Wayte and Olga Raymond Literary Awards; Numismatist of the Year Award 2009, and Lifetime Achievement Award 2020. Winner numerous NLG Literary Awards.
  • BroadstruckBroadstruck Posts: 30,497 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Never cared for the feathered tiara design as it kinda looks like chicken drumsticks.

    To Err Is Human.... To Collect Err's Is Just Too Much Darn Tootin Fun!
  • ZoinsZoins Posts: 34,401 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Should we designate a day of the year as $3 Coin Day? :)

  • topstuftopstuf Posts: 14,803 ✭✭✭✭✭

    March 3rd. :D

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