1871 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. MS-62 (NGC).A touch of pale pink iridescence enlivens already vivid bright gold surfaces. Semi-reflective in finish with a sharp strike and above average eye appeal for the assigned grade. As the United States continued to suffer from the monetary hangover from the Civil War, the currency known as greenbacks (green ink was used for this modern paper money during the Civil War) were plentiful in circulation while gold and silver coinage were not. By 1871 this issue had not been resolved and gold coinage by and large was minimal, especially from the Philadelphia Mint. Hence, only 1,300 circulation strikes were produced for the 1871 three-dollar gold issue. Mint State examples are scarce today, both in an absolute sense and relative to circulation survivors, which themselves are scarce when viewed in the wider context of U.S. numismatics. This is a significant and desirable offering for the astute gold enthusiast.
