This memorable coin is a boldly lustrous example from the New Orleans Mint’s only foray into the $3 denomination. The surfaces are deep yellow-gold with a mix of satin and frost throughout. There is a hint of reflectivity, chiefly at the peripheries, while wisps of sunset orange and olive iridescence endorse both sides. The strike is fairly sharp, though lapping of the reverse die has left the bow at the bottom of the wreath in several independent pieces. The leaves at the viewer’s right are separated from the wreath and the right ribbon is incomplete. The large O mintmark is sharper than often seen. A loupe reveals a scattering of tiny ticks, as should be expected for the grade, though few can be seen with the unaided eye. The luster is unbroken on the design high points and the assigned grade is spot-on in our opinion. The New Orleans Mint struck 24,000 examples of the date for circulation, and circulate they did, both locally and in trade. Today only 400 to 500 examples are estimated to exist, with most of the survivors in the VF range. EF specimens are scarce and in great demand, and AU examples are about as fine as today’s collectors can hope to obtain. The present specimen leads the pack among PCGS-certified coins. Though the 1854-O $3 represents the only coinage of the denomination from our southernmost mint, further coinage of the denomination was considered. Six dated dies for an 1855-O coinage were sent to New Orleans from the Mint in Philadelphia but never utilized. Dies for $3 were also sent to New Orleans in 1856, 1859 and 1861, but no coinage for the denomination was forthcoming in any of those years. PCGS# 7971. NGC ID: 25M5.
