The 1864 gold dollar is one of the low mintage Civil War coins. The total mintage was delivered on two different days during the year, with the first 2,400 pieces delivered on February 24. Late in the year, on December 6, another 3,500 pieces were produced for circulation. The total mintage thus comes to the limited number of 5,900 circulation strikes. This is a smaller number than the previous year, but more pieces were apparently saved, and now this issue is slightly more available than the 1863 gold dollar.

One of the strangest battles of the Civil War was fought in June 1864. Far away from both the Confederacy and United States, it was fought in the English Channel near the French coast. Captain Raphael Semmes of the Alabama, who was in Cherbourg, France for repairs, was challenged by the Union Captain John Ancrum Winslow. His ship, the Kearsarge, was in the Netherlands when he heard of the position of the Alabama immediately set sail to France. The challenge was accepted, and soon a crowd of 15,000 people gathered on the cliffs, many of whom had come from Paris by train to watch the spectacle. Although losses on both sides were relatively small, the victory was for the Union. The Alabama, which also was the best-known of the Confederate raiders, sank with most of the crew being either rescued by French ships or captured.

Closer to home, it was also the Union which celebrated victories. This Union army was lead by Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant, who rivaled President Lincoln in popularity. Born in 1822, he entered the United States Military Academy in West Point when he was 17. After fighting in the Mexican-American war of 1846-1848, he remained in the army and was promoted to Captain until he suddenly left in 1854, with no specific reasons given. Until the Civil War, he labored at a family farm near St. Louis, and had a few odd-jobs. Failing at everything, he decided to volunteer for the Union army after the Civil War had commenced.

In August of 1861, Grant was made brigadier general to serve the Union troops in Illinois and Missouri. After his victory at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River, he is promoted to major general of the volunteers by President Abraham Lincoln. During the next two years, he leads his men to several victories in heavy battles. Finally, in 1864 he is named supreme commander of the Union armies, and he would lead the Union to its victory in the American Civil War.

In any grade, the 1864 Gold Dollar remains a very scarce issue with approximately 85 pieces extant in all grades. The majority of the surviving pieces are in higher circulated grades (EF to AU). However, Mint State examples are occasionally available as well, and a few near perfect examples have been graded by the grading companies.

The small number of remaining Mint State pieces can mostly be traced back to several hoards that were set apart shortly after their mintage. In the midst of the Civil War, not many people could afford to buy freshly minted gold dollars, and thus the majority were exported and later melted. Others were melted soon after their mintage, and the gold was used for the striking of other issues. Thanks to the few people who were able to buy freshly minted gold dollars in 1864, we now have the opportunity to locate high grade examples in modern collections.

The estimates of 1864 proof gold dollars that remain in all grades range from 12 to 15 pieces. Of these, at least 2 are impounded in museums, and a few others are impaired. As a result, only a very limited number of proofs are available to collectors. In fact, this is an issue that at most only once a year appears at major auction or at shows, if that much at all.