Variety 6-H, ex Bass collection. Pedigree designated by PCGS.

This is the rarest Type One gold dollar from the Dahlonega mint. Only 2,935 were produced and slightly more than 100 exist, mostly in the EF40 to AU53 range. In Uncirculated, the 1854-D is a very rare coin with fewer than 10 extant, mostly in the MS60 to MS61 range. The finest known is an NGC MS64, last sold as Heritage 4/13: 4434, which set a record for the date at $64,625.

This example, which was last available to collectors in 1999, is very solid for the grade with considerable frosty luster over nice yellow-gold surfaces. A small, hard-to-see scratch in the left obverse keeps this coin from grading at least one point–if not two–higher. The strike is far above average and this appears to be a very early die state lacking the clashmarks often seen on this date.

Only two PCGS MS61 1854-D gold dollars have sold at auction since 1999 and the last one was in 2004 when the Green Pond coin realized $13,800 as Heritage 1/04: 1006.

This is an important gold dollar for the Dahlonega specialist with a great pedigree to boot.

Ex Bowers and Merena 10/99: 82 where it sold for $11,500, Bass collection.