1856 Liberty Gold Dollar

About This Coin

The 1856 Liberty Gold Dollar is a United States dollar from the Small Indian Princess Head Gold Dollars 1854-1856 series — the final year of the series. In 1856, coins were struck at the San Francisco Mint with a combined mintage of 24,600. This represents the lowest annual mintage in the entire series, below the series median of 783,948. The obverse features a female figure wearing a feathered headdress, representing Liberty in the guise of a Native American princess with a smaller head design and the reverse displays a wreath enclosing the denomination 1 DOLLAR. Final year of the Type 2; the design was replaced mid-year by the Type 3 Large Indian Princess with higher relief to solve striking problems. The 1856-S is the only San Francisco Type 2. Struck in 90% gold, 10% copper, weighing 1.7 grams, 14.3 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Collectors have identified one known die variety for this date (repunched mint mark). Across its variants, estimated values range from $1.2K to $32K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $53K in MS64 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by James Barton Longacre.