1 Dollar, United States, 1856

Description:

United States Mint, Philadelphia. Obverse: Liberty with feather headdress, facing left. Reverse: Denomination and date within cereal wreath. James B. Longacre's second attempt at designing a gold dollar proved unsatisfactory. His concept had featured a head in fairly high relief, and it soon became apparent that the design did not wear well, and that high relief on one side meant an indistinct strike on the other.

So the Longacre went back to the drawing board and came up with yet a third design, copying the new head from the one he had placed on the three dollar piece two years before. This design wore much better. It was retained for the remaining years of production of gold dollars until 1889. Fewer than ten proof gold dollars are known for 1856.

Date Made: 1856

Mint: U.S. Mint, PhiladelphiaDesigner: Longacre, James Barton

Location: Currently not on view

Place Of Issue: United States

See more items in: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection, Coins, Currency and Medals, Josiah K. Lilly Jr. Collection

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Related Web Publication: http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm

Related Publication: Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms

Credit Line: Estate of Josiah K. Lilly

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: NU.68.159.0439Accession Number: 283645Catalog Number: 68.159.0439

Object Name: coin

Physical Description: gold (overall metal)0 (overall die axis)0 (overall die axis measurement)struck (overall production method)Measurements: overall: .1 cm x 1.5 cm; 1/32 in x 19/32 in

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746b3-1a84-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1079448

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