The 1854-D three dollar gold piece is one of the two or three most popular issues of any denomination made at the Dahlonega mint. It is the only year in which this denomination was struck at Dahlonega and it is a scarce issue with an original mintage of only 1,120 pieces. It is more available than most collectors realize with around 100-125 known but it is not often available outside of the auction arena and almost never in a PCGS holder.

This example shows a typical strike for the issue with weakness at the borders and some flatness at the hair and wreath. It is till well detailed for the grade and it is very lustrous with light yellow-gold. In terms of “body,” this piece is probably a full AU55 but there are a few light marks in the left obverse field which limit the grade. Still, it is good eye appeal and a much fresher appearance than many I see in AU55 and even AU58 holders.

No PCGS AU53 has sold at auction since January 2003 and the last NGC example in this grade sold for $30,550 back in August 2012. The last higher grade 1854-D three to sell at auction, ex Heritage 2/14: 5331 at $49,938, was not as cosmetically appealing as the present PCGS AU53, in my opinion.

The 1854-D is a coin with multiple levels of demand and demand has increased considerably in the last few years. For many collectors, a nice mid-range AU in a PCGS holder hits the proverbial sweet spot and locating a finer piece graded by this service will prove challenging.