US Mint products one per decade 1790 to current

Owner Comments:

the $1 gold coin was authorized in 1849 with the first coins dated 1849 and produced thru 1889. During its production there were three different designs used by the US mint.  This particular example was the first or original design used from 1849 thru 1854. In 1854 the Mint produced both type I and type II coins, and then in 1856 both type II and type III coins were minted with only type III coins from 1857 thru 1889.

This first design was called the Liberty head type one gold dollar, what a tiny coin at only a 13mm diameter. Much like the 3 cent silver coins; I cannot imagine how these were ever used in commerce as these tiny and wafer thin coins would be so easy to lose. 290 thousand were coined in 1851 making this year one of the highest production years for type one coins from New Orleans.

A very nice example of this type, nice honey gold color with a nice but not quite full strike.