Smallest (Diameter) U.S. Coin Ever Minted
WingedLiberty1957
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The Smallest (Diameter) U.S. Coin Ever Minted
A Coin Quest
After about 20 years of having this coin on my wish list, last Summer I succumbed to the desire and went on the hunt for the smallest coin ever minted in the United States. The Type 1, One Dollar Gold Coin. I typically buy coins on internet auction websites, but I thought for this hunt I would actually go to a local bricks and mortar coin dealership and look at potential purchases live.
After making the short 20 minute drive across town, I arrived at the dealership and asked to see their stock of $1 gold coins. I was surprised when the owner pulled out a small cardboard box of raw coins that were in 2x2 window'd holders all marked Uncirculated (UNC) with $400 price tags attached. He also pulled out a few third-party-graded mint state coins, however these were all priced quite a bit higher than the raw coins.
When poking through the box of raw coins, I stumbled across a raw 1851 Liberty Head Gold Dollar (Type 1) that had a ton of luster and looked pretty clean (much cleaner than the other coins in the box) -- however this only made me think it might be counterfeit (as it almost looked too good to be true). Some of these thoughts might have been due to my inexperience buying gold coins and the stories I have heard about rampant counterfeiting.
The only other Dollar Gold coin I liked in the large batch I viewed at this dealership was an NGC graded MS63 example for $1200, but I felt that was too much money for a coin that is actually hard to see! So I sprung for the cheaper raw coin and hoped that it wasn't a problem coin (counterfeit, improperly cleaned, etc.).
My only other concern with the coin I bought was a tiny bit of weakness on the last digit (1) on the date. I was thinking that could be from a weak strike and not wear, however I wasn't sure.
So I took the gamble and rolled the dice on the cheaper raw coin.
I actually had the coin in my possession for about 6 weeks when I finally decided to send it off to PCGS for grading. Admittedly I was cringing when I packed it up, hoping that it wouldn't come back "counterfeit", "improperly cleaned", or (least bad) "circulated". (Sometimes ignorance is bliss!)
I still remember the day a few weeks later when I got the fateful "Your grades are ready" email from PCGS. And when I clicked on the link, having a stunned feeling descend upon me when I read "PCGS MS64" off my computer screen! So my little bargain raw coin turned out to be a PCGS MS64 gem -- listed in the PCGS Price Guide at $1,675. I have never made so much money so fast (on paper at least). That was quite a different feeling than my usual "watching the value drop after I buy something" feeling.
Here is a TrueView photo of said coin. (It's interesting how the larger photo actually allows me to see the imperfections, little nicks and soft scratches, that I really couldn't detect by sight only. However I do like the luster and the tiny bit of color variation, so it doesn't appear that this example was overdipped.)
Background Info
The Type 1 Liberty Head One Dollar Gold coin is the smallest diameter coin ever struck for circulation in the U.S. -- checking in at 13.0 mm. The photo below shows the actual size of this tiny coin, alongside a Roosevelt dime that has a diameter of 17.9 mm.
Could you imagine a pocketful of these small gold coins? Trying to pick them out of your pocket lint? Or the sound they might make if a bunch of them fell on the floor?
The price break between AU coins and higher grade MS coins is pretty steep with this series -- with AU's going around $300, MS60's around $400, MS61-62 in the $600's, MS63 in the $1200's. So for those interested in buying one of these, look for a nice lustrous AU coin or a lower end MS (it's a much better deal).
This is a very short-run series, as the Type 1 (Liberty Head) Gold Dollar variety was minted for only 6 years from 1849 to 1854. The Type 2 and Type 3 (Indian Princess) Gold Dollar designs that followed were the exact same weight, but made thinner with an increased diameter of 2 mm for a total new diameter of 15mm (a 15% increase in diameter over Type 1). Minting of these tiny One Dollar denomination Gold coins was discontinued in 1889 after only 40 years of production -- and twelve years after the Morgan Silver Dollar began production.
I do find it interesting that for 12 years from 1878 to 1889, the U.S. actually minted two $1 coins, the gold dollar and the silver dollar.
These One Dollar Gold coins contain 1.5 grams (or roughly 1/20th of an ounce) of gold. So the gold melt value (at today's spot) of one of these Dollar Gold coins is around $78.
It's interesting to note that the today's melt value of a Morgan Silver Dollar (the other $1 coin circulating in the late 1880's) is around $22.
In other words, today's melt value of an 1889 One Dollar Gold coin ($78) is about 3.5 times more than today's melt value of an 1889 One Dollar Silver coin ($22). Clearly gold has gone up in value much more (3.5x more?) than silver in the past 123 years, I am not sure if this means gold is overpriced or silver is underpriced at today's spot. But it is curious.
A Coin Quest
After about 20 years of having this coin on my wish list, last Summer I succumbed to the desire and went on the hunt for the smallest coin ever minted in the United States. The Type 1, One Dollar Gold Coin. I typically buy coins on internet auction websites, but I thought for this hunt I would actually go to a local bricks and mortar coin dealership and look at potential purchases live.
After making the short 20 minute drive across town, I arrived at the dealership and asked to see their stock of $1 gold coins. I was surprised when the owner pulled out a small cardboard box of raw coins that were in 2x2 window'd holders all marked Uncirculated (UNC) with $400 price tags attached. He also pulled out a few third-party-graded mint state coins, however these were all priced quite a bit higher than the raw coins.
When poking through the box of raw coins, I stumbled across a raw 1851 Liberty Head Gold Dollar (Type 1) that had a ton of luster and looked pretty clean (much cleaner than the other coins in the box) -- however this only made me think it might be counterfeit (as it almost looked too good to be true). Some of these thoughts might have been due to my inexperience buying gold coins and the stories I have heard about rampant counterfeiting.
The only other Dollar Gold coin I liked in the large batch I viewed at this dealership was an NGC graded MS63 example for $1200, but I felt that was too much money for a coin that is actually hard to see! So I sprung for the cheaper raw coin and hoped that it wasn't a problem coin (counterfeit, improperly cleaned, etc.).
My only other concern with the coin I bought was a tiny bit of weakness on the last digit (1) on the date. I was thinking that could be from a weak strike and not wear, however I wasn't sure.
So I took the gamble and rolled the dice on the cheaper raw coin.
I actually had the coin in my possession for about 6 weeks when I finally decided to send it off to PCGS for grading. Admittedly I was cringing when I packed it up, hoping that it wouldn't come back "counterfeit", "improperly cleaned", or (least bad) "circulated". (Sometimes ignorance is bliss!)
I still remember the day a few weeks later when I got the fateful "Your grades are ready" email from PCGS. And when I clicked on the link, having a stunned feeling descend upon me when I read "PCGS MS64" off my computer screen! So my little bargain raw coin turned out to be a PCGS MS64 gem -- listed in the PCGS Price Guide at $1,675. I have never made so much money so fast (on paper at least). That was quite a different feeling than my usual "watching the value drop after I buy something" feeling.
Here is a TrueView photo of said coin. (It's interesting how the larger photo actually allows me to see the imperfections, little nicks and soft scratches, that I really couldn't detect by sight only. However I do like the luster and the tiny bit of color variation, so it doesn't appear that this example was overdipped.)
Background Info
The Type 1 Liberty Head One Dollar Gold coin is the smallest diameter coin ever struck for circulation in the U.S. -- checking in at 13.0 mm. The photo below shows the actual size of this tiny coin, alongside a Roosevelt dime that has a diameter of 17.9 mm.
Could you imagine a pocketful of these small gold coins? Trying to pick them out of your pocket lint? Or the sound they might make if a bunch of them fell on the floor?
The price break between AU coins and higher grade MS coins is pretty steep with this series -- with AU's going around $300, MS60's around $400, MS61-62 in the $600's, MS63 in the $1200's. So for those interested in buying one of these, look for a nice lustrous AU coin or a lower end MS (it's a much better deal).
This is a very short-run series, as the Type 1 (Liberty Head) Gold Dollar variety was minted for only 6 years from 1849 to 1854. The Type 2 and Type 3 (Indian Princess) Gold Dollar designs that followed were the exact same weight, but made thinner with an increased diameter of 2 mm for a total new diameter of 15mm (a 15% increase in diameter over Type 1). Minting of these tiny One Dollar denomination Gold coins was discontinued in 1889 after only 40 years of production -- and twelve years after the Morgan Silver Dollar began production.
I do find it interesting that for 12 years from 1878 to 1889, the U.S. actually minted two $1 coins, the gold dollar and the silver dollar.
These One Dollar Gold coins contain 1.5 grams (or roughly 1/20th of an ounce) of gold. So the gold melt value (at today's spot) of one of these Dollar Gold coins is around $78.
It's interesting to note that the today's melt value of a Morgan Silver Dollar (the other $1 coin circulating in the late 1880's) is around $22.
In other words, today's melt value of an 1889 One Dollar Gold coin ($78) is about 3.5 times more than today's melt value of an 1889 One Dollar Silver coin ($22). Clearly gold has gone up in value much more (3.5x more?) than silver in the past 123 years, I am not sure if this means gold is overpriced or silver is underpriced at today's spot. But it is curious.
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Comments
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.
<< <i>I guess a 3-cent silver is slightly larger? >>
by 1 mm, yes.
True, but the 1854-1873 ones are smallest weight coin ever issued by the United States.
The half cent is the smallest denomination.
<< <i>I just realized that the 3 cent piece would also be the smallest volume coin. >>
True, that. I can barely hear them.
<< <i>I guess a 3-cent silver is slightly larger? >>
That was my first thought too. I've always thought that the 3¢ Trime was the smallest US coin.
- Jim
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
<< <i>
<< <i>I guess a 3-cent silver is slightly larger? >>
That was my first thought too. I've always thought that the 3¢ Trime was the smallest US coin.
>>
One Dollar Gold, Type 1 = 13 mm
Three Cent Piece, Silver = 14 mm
One Dollar Gold, Type 2 & 3 = 15 mm
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From what I’ve read, the pre Civil War gold dollars were the most successful dollar coin in United States history. They offered a safe alternative to the privately issued paper money that the banks for circulating at the time, and the silver dollar, which was always had the problem of bulk, contained more than a dollar’s worth of silver and did not circulate. For that reason there are quite a number of circulated Type I, Type II and early date Type III gold dollars around.
The trouble was the size, of course. The coins were just too small for every day use. Several solutions were considered. One was to add more copper to the alloy, but beyond 80% gold and 20% copper, the coins took on a brassy look that was an open invitation to counterfeiters. A coin with a perforated planchet or “ring dollar” was also considered, but there was little space on that piece for much of a design. Plus the technology of the time would was not up to making a coin that looked like washer.
The ultimate solution was a wider planchet, but the relief on the Type II gold dollar was too high, and the coins were usually poorly struck. The Type III coins fixed the strike problem, but along came the Civil War and gold quickly disappeared from circulation. Problems with gold, silver and paper money persisted after the war, and by the time that got straighten out the gold dollar had fallen into disuse, and the series ended.
Chris' Complete Lincoln Variety Set 1909-date
<< <i>Next question, what is the smallest coin struck at the US mint? >>
Great additional info everyone
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<< <i>One thing not mentioned is that gold dollars (especially the T2 and T3) were quite often sent by mail. Before the appearance of Federal greenbacks these coins were the only nationally accepted money. >>
Before checks became common people often would send cash through the mail and mailmen carried guns since they were frequently targeted by robbers.
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
<< <i>Next question, what is the smallest coin struck at the US mint? >>
Was it the Panamanian "Pill", 1904 2.5 centisimos, with a diameter of 10mm?