1861 Gold Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 527,150 made
- Mintage
- 527,150
- Metal
- 90% gold, 10% copper
- Weight
- 1.672 g
- Diameter
- 13 mm (Type 1); 15 mm (Types 2 and 3)
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1861 Gold Dollar worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1861 Gold Dollar rare?
- Somewhat. 527,150 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1861 Gold Dollar real gold?
- No, it's gold: 0.0484 troy ounces of pure gold.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1861 Gold Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the wreath. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. A "D" on a coin dated 1861 or earlier means Dahlonega, Georgia.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1861 are scarcer?
- The 1865 at 3,700, the 1864 at 5,900, the 1863 at 6,200, plus 4 more. So the 1861 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1861 Gold Dollar coins were made?
- 527,150.
What to check on your 1861
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1861 Gold Dollar Proof (349 made) is the one to compare with.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. Look at the hair above the eye and the bow of the wreath. Many gold dollars were made into jewelry, so check for solder marks or removed loops.
Gold coins are counterfeited more than any other US coins. A genuine 1861 weighs 1.672 g. Buy certified examples from a reputable dealer.
The story of the 1861
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1861: 527,150 coins, about 14 times the 1860 run. The next year it made 1.4 million (1862).
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1861 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1850 (481,953) and the 1849 (688,567).
Philadelphia struck the Gold Dollar in 42 issues between 1849 and 1889. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1875 (400). Within the 1860s it's 11th smallest of 12, between the 1860 (36,514) and the 1862 (1.4 million).
Type 3 at the southern mints (1857 to 1861)
The Type 3 design used a larger, flatter head that struck up better than Type 2. Philadelphia made hundreds of thousands each year, but Charlotte and Dahlonega produced only a few thousand and these coins are scarce. San Francisco struck 10,000 to 15,000 a year. Charlotte struck its last gold dollars in 1859.
The 1861-D is the famous coin of this era. After Georgia seized the Dahlonega Mint in April 1861, a small number of gold dollars were struck there under Confederate control. It is a major rarity today and is often counterfeited. Philadelphia struck 527,150 gold dollars in 1861 as the war began. Branch mint Type 3 dollars of these years are usually found in Very Fine to About Uncirculated.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1861
The Civil War began. Confederate forces seized the branch mints at New Orleans, Charlotte and Dahlonega. New Orleans struck some half dollars under Confederate control before closing.
How to recognize it
The smallest US coin ever struck came in three types. Type 1 (1849 to 1854) shows a tiny Liberty head and measures only 13 mm. Type 2 (1854 to 1856) is larger and thinner, with Liberty wearing a feathered headdress. Type 3 (1856 to 1889) enlarges the portrait. Every type has a wreath on the reverse around 1 DOLLAR and the date.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Gold Dollar (1849–1889) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1861 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 527,150 |
| Face value | $1 |
| Composition | 90% gold, 10% copper |
| Weight | 1.672 grams |
| Diameter | 13 mm (Type 1); 15 mm (Types 2 and 3) |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | James B. Longacre |
Other 1861 Gold Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1861 Gold Dollar | 527,150 | Circulation strike | – |
| 1861 Gold Dollar Proof | 349 | Proof | – |
Mintage: Gold dollar (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.