1868 Three Dollar Pattern - J-C1868-1

Coin Details

Description

Judd-C1868-1 is a three dollar gold pattern from 1868, cataloged in the supplementary "C" series. The obverse features James B. Longacre's Indian Princess Head design with a feathered headdress inscribed LIBERTY, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the date 1868. The reverse displays the agricultural wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco enclosing the denomination THREE DOLLARS. By 1868, the three dollar gold piece was well into its decline as a practical denomination. Annual mintages at Philadelphia had fallen to just a few thousand coins, and the San Francisco branch mint had stopped producing the denomination entirely. Despite this commercial irrelevance, the Mint continued to produce pattern strikings that tested design modifications or compositional experiments for the still-active denomination. The 1868 date falls during a particularly active period of pattern production at the Philadelphia Mint. Director James Pollock was overseeing experiments across all denominations as the Mint implemented the IN GOD WE TRUST motto mandate and explored broader design updates. Pattern strikings of the three dollar denomination from this era are exceptionally scarce because so few were produced — the Mint devoted the majority of its experimental resources to higher-volume denominations like the cent, nickel, and standard silver coins that had greater commercial significance. The supplementary "C" designation confirms that this pattern escaped the attention of early Judd catalog compilers, because it resided in an institutional collection or was confused with a regular-issue proof until detailed examination revealed its pattern characteristics.

Rarity Notes

R.8. Extremely rare. Three dollar patterns from the late 1860s are known from only a handful of specimens.

Cross References

Judd-C1868-1; cf. J-C1866-1 (1866 three dollar pattern)