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The Gold dollar or gold one-dollar piece is a gold coin that was minted regularly by the Bureau of the United States Mint from 1849 to 1889. The coin was of three types throughout its life, all designed by the Mint’s chief engraver, James B. Longacre. Type 1 issue has the smallest diameter of any United States coin minted to date.
The gold dollar coin had been proposed several times in the 1830s and 1840s but was not initially accepted. Congress was finally bolstered in action by an increase in bullion supply caused by the California gold rush, and in 1849 authorized the introduction of the gold dollar. In the early years of its existence, silver coins were stored or exported, and the gold dollar found a ready place in trade. Silver spread again after Congress in 1853 called for the lightening of new coins from the metal, and the gold dollar became a rarity in trade even before federal coins disappeared from circulation due to the economic turmoil caused by the US Civil War.
Gold did not circulate again in much of the country until 1879; after that, the gold dollar did not regain its place. In the final years, it got stuck in small numbers, causing speculation by hoarders. It was also desired to adapt it to jewelry. The regular gold dollar was last struck in 1889; Congress terminated the streak the following year.
Damaged gold dollars with a common date typically range from melt cost to around US$110 (as of 2017); regular, higher circulated grades sell for about US$200, while rarer high-quality coins can cost up to thousands.
In proposing his plan for a mint and coinage system, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in 1791 proposed minting the one-dollar coin as both a gold and a silver coin, representing the two metals he proposed to make legal tender. Congress followed Hamilton’s recommendation only partially, allowing the release of the silver dollar, but no gold coins of this denomination.
In 1831, the first gold dollar was minted at Christopher Bechtler’s private Mint in North Carolina. Most of the gold produced in the United States at the time came from the mountains of North Carolina and Georgia, and dollars and other small gold coins issued by Bechtler circulated in the region and could sometimes be seen further away. Another dollar were struck by August Bechtler, son of Christopher.
Shortly after the Bechtlers went about their personal affairs, Treasury Secretary Levi Woodbury became the protector of the United States Mint (the Mint, when described as an institution) to mint one dollar denomination in gold.