1871 $3 (1871 Three Dollar Gold) PCGS MS62. This almost proof-like, 1871 Three Dollar Gold piece shows full details including the tips of the feathers on the headdress, the hair details below the head band, the wreath details, and the two central date numerals. Many examples show weakness at the 1 and 8 because of die wear or lighter pressures. This coin is a notable exception. It also has vibrant, satin luster and no individually distracting abrasions worth mentioning.

James Longacre designed the Three Dollar Gold coin using the Indian Princess for his main device. He had to create a motif that would be distinctly different from the quarter and half eagle coronet designs. The design, similar to his Gold Dollar Large Head, shows a head of Liberty facing left in profile wearing a stylized headdress. Inscribed on the headband is LIBERTY. She is surrounded by the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. In using the Indian Princess design, Longacre felt that he was creating something that was uniquely American rather than an adoption from the classics. The reverse of the piece shows an open wreath of corn, cotton, wheat, and tobacco tied at the bottom with a bow. The denomination 3 appears at the top center of the wreath, with DOLLARS and the date below within the wreath. Longacre liked the wreath design so much that he adopted it for use on the small cent of 1856.

In 1851 a law was passed that authorized a three cent piece and also made the postage rate three cents. Two years later a new law was passed authorizing a light weight silver three cent coin and a Three Dollar Gold coin. Evidently lawmakers believed that the gold coin would be useful to buy rolls of three cent coins and sheets of stamps. Its closeness to the quarter eagle, which was widely used, made the denomination somewhat illogical, and the public proved indifferent to them.

Of all the gold coin series, Longacres Three Dollar Gold is in many ways the least complex. There was just one major design, the Indian Princess motif, and the coins were produced continuously from 1854 to 1889. In the first year a variety was made in that all the coins have the word DOLLARS in small letters, and in 1873 there were Open and Closed 3s in the date.

The 1871 three dollar gold coin had an original mintage of 1,300. In its population report, PCGS has certified 9 in MS63 with 13 better. Because of its low mintage, any increased interest in the series will cause this date to be more in demand.