A Quick Look at a Stand-Alone New Orleans Gold Coin
1854 New Orleans Three Dollar Gold Piece – A true stand-alone New Orleans gold coin
A stand-alone New Orleans gold coin is a coin that has unique attributes, in this case 1854-O $3G is the first and only year that a coin of the $3 denomination was ever produced at the New Orleans mint. As a cherry on top for this issue; it is also the very first year of production for any $3G coin at any U.S. Mint!
Since it was the only $3 gold piece struck at New Orleans and it has an affordable price point it has always been a New Orleans gold coin.
The typical 1854-O is not boldly struck and some pieces are seen with mint-made defects in the fields. This is compounded by the fact that the majority of survivors have been cleaned or mishandled and lack original color as a result. Despite currently high populations at both services, truly original AU examples are scarce and a properly graded uncirculated 1854-O is very rare.
Taking a look at the numbers….
Original Mintage 24,000
Total Population in all grades 1378*
These stats do not give a flattering survival rate percentage figure (5.7%) which is more than twice most New Orleans gold coins we handle but this can be a blessing in disguise…. Since there are relatively more coins out there this issue has potential to trade more often than a rare coin with only one or two examples known to exist. Giving it what I like to call “spurtability” (Things coming in spurts, or sudden bursts) In this case the spurtability could be the pricing on the 1854-O $3G piece.
Most 1854-O $3G is seen in the XF to AU grade range, the finest known example is graded mint state 63 by NGC. The high auction record is $74,750 recorded in January 2002 for a NGC mint state 62!
*Population as of November 2015
