1878 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. MS-63 (PCGS). CAC. OGH. Lovely satin to softly frosted surfaces are further adorned by original color in rich golden-orange and pinkish-rose. Both sides are sharply struck with an impressively smooth appearance that borders on an even higher Mint State grade. At 82,304 pieces the mintage of the 1878 three-dollar gold piece is the second highest for the type after 1854. Except for this and the similarly aberrant 1874 (41,800 pieces struck), the highest mintage three-dollar gold issue from the later years of this series is the 1887 -- with just 6,000 circulation strikes produced. Most of the 1878 three-dollar gold pieces that remained in the Mint were eventually melted, severely limiting the population of high quality survivors like the present piece. A significant offering for the discerning gold type collector. PCGS# 8000. NGC ID: 25MZ.
