1864 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. MS-63 (PCGS).Delightful satin to semi-reflective surfaces are further adorned with vivid golden-orange patina, as well as a tinge of pale olive. Fully struck with surfaces that are carefully preserved and temptingly close to an even higher Choice Mint State rating.<p>With a mintage that is approximately half as limited as those of the already low mintage 1861, 1862 and 1863 issues, it is little wonder than the 1864 is an even rarer three-dollar gold piece in todays market. The Philadelphia Mint produced only 2,630 circulation strikes of this denomination as the Civil War approached its bloody end, the entire mintage withheld from circulation in the East and Midwest for the duration of that conflict and throughout much of the Reconstruction era. By the time numismatists took notice of this issue during the early 20th century, the best that could usually be mustered was a lightly circulated EF or AU that had managed to survive in the reserves of banks or bullion dealers. Such pieces remain scarce today, Q. David Bowers and Douglas Winter (2005) accounting for just 130 to 170 circulated coins. Not many more than 50 Mint State examples have survived, almost purely as a matter of chance, and these are eagerly sought as highlights in advanced gold cabinets. As one of the finer 1864 threes known to PCGS, in fact, the premium MS-63 coin offered here will please even the most discerning collector.PCGS# 7985. NGC ID: 25MK.PCGS Population: 5; 13 finer (MS-67 finest).
