1862 G$1 (1862 Gold Dollar) PCGS AU55 CAC. Civil War Gold Dollar. A considerable amount of bright mint luster is present on this Civil War dated 1862 Gold Dollar. The coin is presented in a OGH (old green holder) and graded AU55 by PCGS, which is confirmed by CAC. For the issue, the strike is strong showing all the detail that is often weak: the hair above the eye, the ends of the feathers, and the knot of the bow.
The lighter portrait of Liberty contrasts to somewhat darker fields creating an almost cameo effect on the obverse. James B. Longacre designed this coin using the Indian Princess motif. Liberty faces left, in this rendition, with her hair flowing down her neck. A stylized, feathered tiara is on her head. She is surrounded by the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The reverse has an open wreath of corn, cotton, tobacco, and wheat. It encircles the denomination written as a large 1 with DOLLAR below and the date below the denomination. Dentils are around the periphery of both sides.
At the time that Longacre was designing this coin, there was the suggestion in Congress that a coin be made with a hole in the middle. Secretary of Treasury Guthrie favored the idea; however, Mint Director Snowden disagreed. While he agreed that a hole would enable coins to be tied in bunches, as the Chinese do, he felt that cutting out the center would weaken the coin. Longacre agreed with Snowden’s point of view which prevailed.
James Barton Longacre was born in Pennsylvania in 1794. He became an apprentice to a bookseller and then a banknote engraver in Philadelphia. In 1819 he worked on his own as an engraver and made metal plates for bank notes and book illustrations. His works included one on stage personalities and another on the signers of the Declaration of Independence. In 1844, through the influence of John C. Calhoun, Longacre was made Chief Engraver at the Mint, where he succeeded the late Christian Gobrecht. Longacre’s experience was limited, but he was a talented artist. By 1849 he was able to create the gold dollar and double eagle, the design of which lasted until well into the twentieth century.
