1856-S Three-Dollar Gold Piece. Medium S. MS-61 (NGC).This sharply struck example is brightly lustrous with a satin to semi-prooflike finish from the dies. Warmly patinated in medium gold, a tinge of pale apricot-orange is evident on the obverse as the coin rotates under a light. Uncommonly smooth in hand for the assigned grade, this is a significant and attractive Mint State survivor of an early San Francisco mint gold issue that is almost always offered well worn.<p>The second year of issue for the denomination at San Francisco and the third year of issue for the entire series, the 1856-S three-dollar gold piece also has the highest mintage for the California branch mint at 34,500 coins, at best a modest quantity by any measure. In the early years of the San Francisco Mint, gold coins were ushered into commercial use almost immediately and remained there for years. Even though the denomination ultimately proved unpopular, the early three dollar gold pieces saw extensive circulation in the West where there was an acute shortage of coins in circulation. Three mint mark size varieties are known with the Medium S variety, as here, comparatively the most available. While this is one of the more frequently encountered issues for the series, almost all of the surviving examples are found in the middle circulated grade levels seldom any finer than Extremely Fine, testimony to their time spent in the Western economy. Above AU, the 1856-S $3 becomes prohibitively rare, with at best maybe one to two dozen individual truly Mint State specimens remain in numismatic circles. None have been graded at the Gem level and only 11 grading events have been recorded at NGC finer than MS-61, a figure that no doubt contains resubmissions. For the three-dollar gold enthusiast, here is an example sure to please.
