1853-O G$1 Liberty Head Gold Dollar PCGS MS63 (CAC)

Here is a small jewel from the heady days of the famed California Gold Rush. Please take a careful look at the images of this offering from AUCM. Isn’t it a beauty? And it is an affordable beauty at that! Doug Winter writes, “The 1853-O is the most common New Orleans gold dollar. It is easily found in circulated grades and can be located in the MS60 to MS62 range with no trouble. It is moderately scarce in properly graded MS63, very scarce in MS64 and very rare in MS65.”

PCGS has graded 82 examples as MS63 with 58 finer. Collectors Universe gives this issue a price of $2,350.00 in MS63. In CAC, there are 20 pieces in MS63 with 10 finer. CAC prices the 1853-O G$1 at $2,310.00 in MS63.

According to Winter, “This is the best produced gold dollar from the New Orleans mint. Many examples are very sharp with full detail noted in the peripheries and centers. There are some 1853-O gold dollars with minor weakness on the LL in DOLLAR and on the right side of the 8 and the left side of the 5 in the date. Others may show some weakness on the obverse along the rim and denticles.”

A scale for weighing coins used at the New Orleans Mint during the 19th century. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.