Gold Dollar

The gold dollar was the smallest denomination of gold coin ever produced by the US Mint. The coin’s production was in large part spurred by the discovery of large deposits of gold during the California Gold Rush of the 1840s. The first variety of gold dollar, produced in 1849, carried an obverse design featuring a Liberty head and a reverse design showing the denomination and a wreath. The so-called Liberty Head coin was not only the smallest denomination ever produced in gold, it was also the smallest coin ever made by the mint, measuring only 13 millimeters in diameter. In 1854, an Indian head design was adopted and the size of the coin was increased slightly. The coin continued to be minted until 1889, with a minor design change implemented in 1856 that enlarged the Indian head on the obverse. The number of copies of the coin struck began to decline during the Civil War and afterwards coinage figures never recovered. The gold dollars continued to circulate, however, until the 1930s when the gold standard was abandoned.

Gold Dollar coins