This beautiful gem was a treasure for connoisseurs Harold Bareford, Harry Bass, and D. Brent Pogue, as it will be for its next owner. The frosty deep yellow gold surfaces display an abundance of rich sunset orange iridescence throughout. Pools of soft mint frost adorn modestly reflective sides and there is lively cartwheel luster. The strike is nearly full with only a modicum of weakness in Liberty’s hair and at the reverse bow; the present piece is no doubt as sharp as ever seen for an 1869 $3. Close inspection reveals a vertical row of three tiny ticks before Miss Liberty’s portrait. Other than a few faint hairlines that would not have shown on a frosty piece, the obverse is completely free of distractions. The reverse fares even finer, with no marks of consequence despite the abundance of mirror-like surface. Just 2,500 examples of the date were produced for circulation, and perhaps 150 to 200 pieces can be found today in all grades. It is thought there could be as many as 20 to 30 Mint State 1869 $3s extant. True Uncirculated examples of the date tend to hover at the Mint State-60 to 62 level and anything finer than MS-62 is a real showstopper. The amazing Mint State-65 D. Brent Pogue Collection example offered here is the finest certified example of the date from either of the two major grading services. NGC has not certified an example of the date above Mint State-63. This important condition rarity is one of a kind in today’s numismatic marketplace and represents an excellent opportunity to add world-class elegance to a $3 gold collection. In 1869 the San Francisco Mint received four $3 dies from Philadelphia but, again, no coinage of the denomination was produced. The branch mint hadn’t produced $3 coins since 1860 and would not produce any other dates in the denomination save for the 1870-S $3, of which two were made, the other being lost. PCGS# 7990. NGC ID: 25MR.
