By Greg Reynolds for CoinLink

An 1855-D One Dollar Gold coin ‘made the news’ when it was auctioned for $149,500! This 1855-D was sold on February 13 by the firm of Ira and Larry Goldberg at the Beverly Hills Crowne Plaza. It was part of a large auction event that spanned several days, and was held just prior to the Long Beach (CA) coin, stamp and collectible expo.

Why is this coin important? It is the rarest Type 2 One Dollar Gold piece. It is the only Type 2 date that was struck at the branch of the U.S. Mint that was in Dahlonega, Georgia. It is the finest 1855-D Dollar that I have seen, and it is certainly one of the four finest known examples of this date, which is very rare in all grades.

There are three types of U.S. One Dollar Gold pieces. Type 1 is the Liberty Head that was minted from 1849 to 1854. Type 2, of larger diameter than the Type 1, is the so called ‘Indian Princess,’ minted from 1854 to 1856. Type 3 is a variation of the ‘Indian Princess’ design, though it looks quite different from the Type 2 design. Type 3 One Dollar Gold pieces were minted from 1856 to 1889.

What is a ‘type coin’ and is an 1855-D a ‘type coin’? In a sense, all regular U.S. coins, and their proof counterparts, are type coins, as each is representative of a design type. Usually, however, the least rare dates of each type that are referred to as ‘type coins.’

In the case of gold dollars, it is too easy for a wealthy collector to just complete a type set. Examples of the least rare dates of all three types are very much available. A choice uncirculated, MS-63 grade, Type 2 One Dollar Gold piece may require a little searching and more than $10,000, but MS-63 grade Type 1 and Type 3 pieces would be easy to obtain for less than $1000. So, an 1855-D One Dollar Gold coin may appeal to a type collector who desires more of a challenge, has some patience, and wishes to make his set more exciting than a typical type set.

There are categories in the registry of the Professional Coin Grading Service that are devoted to Dahlonega Mint coins. Collectors may register sets of all Dahlonega Mint coins, basic type sets of Dahlonega Mint coins, or complete type sets of Dahlonega Mint coins. Registrants of complete Dahlonega sets (all dates and all denominations) or complete Dahlonega type sets (one of each type, all denominations) would necessarily need an 1855-D One Dollar Gold coin. Interestingly, “The Number One Finest Set” of all Dahlonega Gold, named “Great Plains,” is missing only one date, an 1855-D Gold Dollar!

Of course, most 1855-D One Dollar gold coins will not cost anywhere near $149,500. Indeed, circulated examples may range in price from $4,000 to $30,000, depending upon the degree of wear, surface quality, and eye appeal.

The whole second type of One Dollar Gold coins has only six dates: 1854, 1855, 1855-C, 1855-D, 1855-O and 1856-S. The 1855-D is, by far, the rarest of the six. The 1861-D, a Type 3 Gold Dollar, is sometimes thought to be rarer than the 1855-D, though a case could be made that the 1855-D is rarer. There is no doubt that the 1855-D is rarer in grades above MS-60.

The 1849-C ‘Open Wreath’ variety, a Type 1 Gold Dollar, is extremely rare. Is it a separate date or is it just a die variety? The 1849-C ‘Closed Wreath’ is very rare, but not as rare as the 1855-D or the 1861-D. There are, at most, five 1849-C ‘Open Wreath’ dollars, and maybe more than 150 1849-C ‘Closed Wreath’ dollars. Typically, date collectors conclude that the ‘Closed Wreath’ is the only 1849-C needed to complete a set.

Of all gold dollars, the 1875, reportedly, has the lowest mintage, 400 business strikes plus 20 proofs. The 1875 is generally considered to be not as rare as the 1855-D and the 1861-D, though this point is very much debatable. It is certain, however, that, in uncirculated grades, the 1855-D is the rarest and the 1875 is the least rare of the three. Indeed, there are at least a dozen, probably more, 1875s that grade MS-64 or higher, in addition to numerous MS-63 grade pieces.

One Dollar Gold pieces are among the least difficult denominations to collect ‘by date.’ They are short lived. Contrast them to half eagles ($5 gold coins), which were minted in most all years from 1795 to the 1929. Several half eagles are Great Rarities, and thus would be extremely expensive to obtain. Two or three dates may not be available for many years, if ever.

Therefore, an 1855-D is important to the many collectors who do, or potentially may, collect gold dollars ‘by date;’ to collectors of only Dahlonega Mint coins by ‘date’; to those who collect only Dahlonega Mint coins by type; and to traditional type collectors who wish to embellish their type sets with very rare dates. Actually, though, the buyer of the 1855-D one dollar gold coin in the Goldbergs auction was neither a ‘type collector’ nor a ‘date collector.’

The buyer is a prominent Southern California businessman who is currently focused upon coins that cost more than $50,000 each. According to Ira Goldberg, this buyer believes that the coins that are the ‘most important’ are the best values in the present.

This 1855-D has been certified it as MS-64 by the Numismatic Guaranty Corp. Neither NGC nor the PCGS has graded an 1855-D as MS-65 or higher.

In my view, its grade is a mid-range to high end MS-64. It is markedly brilliant and attractive overall. The reverse is a little nicer than the obverse. The light hairlines, however numerous, are commensurate with an MS-64 grade. Indeed, I have seen MS-65 graded One Dollar Gold coins of other dates that have more and deeper hairlines than this coin. Plus, this coin’s strike is exceptional.

Louis Eliasberg, Sr. formed the greatest collection of U.S. coins. Not only was it the most complete collection of all time, it contained the finest known examples of numerous dates in copper, silver and gold! The Eliasberg 1855-D One Dollar Gold piece was graded ‘Extremely Fine-40.’

None of the contestants in the PCGS registry, in any pertinent category, have listed a choice uncirculated 1855-D. Curiously, the PCGS website reports that the Smithsonian’s example is an AU that has been “repaired.”

Of three that the NGC has certified as MS-64, Heritage auctioned one in January 2006 for $109,250, and another in April 2006 for $132,250. Both were said to be formerly in the “Duke’s Creek Collection,” and this name was noted on both NGC holders. The January 2006 cataloger regarded that piece as the second finest known, and said that the other Duke’s Creek piece is the finest.

It seems that Doug Winter was the guest cataloger for the Heritage April 2006 auction of the Dahlonega coins from Duke’s Creek Collection. He emphasized that the 1855-D auctioned then is the finest known. In his post-auction analysis, on his own website, Winter says that if this coin had never been dipped, it would have realized much more. He implied, however, that he still regarded it as the finest known, mostly because of its sharp strike.

Could it be possible that the 1855-D that Heritage sold in April 2006 and the 1855-D that the Goldbergs auctioned in February 2007 are the same coin? I did not attend either the January or April 2006 Heritage auctions. I cannot draw a firm conclusion solely from the images on the Heritage website, however impressive these may be. While the NGC holders are different, it could well have been ‘cracked out’ and resubmitted after April 2006.

The late Harry Bass had multiple 1855-D gold dollars. His finest was a PCGS graded MS-62 coin that was auctioned in October 1999. According to Doug Winter, it is the same coin that Heritage auctioned in April 2006, upgraded along the way to NGC MS-64.

As far as I know, the price realized, $149,500, in the February Goldbergs auction is a record for the date. It certainly is 13% more than the price realized for an NGC graded MS-64 in April 2006, about ten months earlier.

It is interesting that the Jan. 2006 Heritage cataloger mentioned an estimate of 70 to 80. In both the April 2006 Heritage catalog, and on his own website, Winter estimated 75 to 90 1855-D gold dollars extant.

It would be helpful if the Heritage catalogers analyzed and revealed how many of the 33 or so examples that Heritage has auctioned since 1993 are really different coins. In at least some instances, they must have access to more or better images than those that appear online, and also to information about consignors.

It is fair to conclude that forty to fifty have been certified by PCGS or NGC, and at least another dozen would qualify for such certification. As gold dollars were so often used for jewelry or other decorative purposes, I am puzzled as to how to go about estimating the number that have been heavily polished, soldered, harshly cleaned, or otherwise seriously mistreated. There probably still are some that reside outside of the coin collecting community

Barring the existence of some very secret or long forgotten hoard, it is safe to say that there must be fewer than 135 1855-D One Dollar Gold pieces in existence. The piece that the Goldbergs just auctioned is definitely one of the top four, if not the finest!

© 2007 Greg Reynolds