1861 G$1 (1861 Gold Dollar) NGC MS66. This superb gem, Civil War dated 1861 Gold Dollar has an almost cameo appearance because the devices are highlighted by bright mint luster. The surfaces are virtually pristine, as expected for the grade. The strike is above average with slight central weakness seen on both sides of the coin. There are clash marks on both sides of the coin, but these do not diminish the coins value or its grade.

In 1854 James B. Longacre created the Indian Princess gold dollar design. It consisted of a truncated portrait of a Caucasian Liberty facing left wearing a stylized headdress inscribed LIBERTY. She is surrounded by the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The reverse shows an open, elaborate wreath of corn, cotton, maple, and tobacco with the numeral 1 in the top center. Below it is DOLLAR followed by the date. Unfortunately these pieces did not strike well because the obverse portrait was in high relief and there wasnt enough of a metal flow to fill the dies on both sides.

Two years later the second version of the Indian Princess was coined in the hopes that the striking problems could be alleviated with a design change. The new coin retained the same diameter, but the obverse relief was lowered. In addition, the portrait was modified so the relief areas were not opposite. The solution that Longacre chose was to adapt the design of the three dollar gold piece. The words of the legend were placed nearer the border. The head was placed farther from the letters, and the feathers shapes, sizes, and locations also changed. The new design modifications were successful and the coin remained in use until 1889.

The original mintage of the 1861 gold dollar was 2,976,453. The coin in MS66 is what is known as a condition rarity. In its population report, NGC shows 8 in MS66 with 2 better. PCGS shows 7 with 3 better. These numbers do not account for resubmissions and crossovers.