[1] The obverse bears a representation of Lady Liberty wearing a headdress of a Native American princess and the reverse a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco.

It circulated somewhat on the West Coast, where gold and silver were used to the exclusion of paper money, but what little place it had in commerce in the East was lost in the economic disruption of the Civil War, and was never regained.

[2] The Act of March 3, 1845 authorized the first United States postage stamps and set the rate for local prepaid letters at five cents.

"[4] According to numismatic historian Walter Breen, "the main purpose of the new 3¢ piece would be to buy postage stamps without using the unpopular, heavy, and often filthy copper cents.

To correct this situation, Secretary of the Treasury Thomas Corwin advocated reducing the precious-metal content of most silver coins to prevent their export.

The opposition to the bill was led by Tennessee Representative Andrew Johnson, who believed that Congress had no authority to alter the gold/silver price ratio and, if it did, it should not exercise it.

[6] According to Breen, Congress believed the new coin "would be convenient for exchange for rolls or small bags of silver 3¢ pieces, and for buying sheets of 3¢ stamps—always bypassing use of copper cents".

"[8] Coin dealer and author Q. David Bowers notes that "whether or not the $3 denomination was actually necessary or worthwhile has been a matter of debate among numismatists for well over a century.

[1] Longacre noted that although those in charge of coinage design had usually dictated adaptations of Roman or Greek art, for the three-dollar coin, he was minded to create something truly American: Why should we in seeking a type for the illustration or symbol of a nation that need not hold itself lower than the Roman virtue or the Science of Greece prefer the barbaric period of a remote and distant people, from which to draw an emblem of nationality: to the aboriginal period of our own land: especially when the latter presents us with a characteristic distinction not less interesting, and more peculiar than that which still casts its chain over the civilized portion of the older continent?

From the copper shores of Lake Superior to the silver mountains of Potosi, from the Ojibwa to the Araucanian, the feathered tiara is a characteristic of the primitiveness of our hemisphere as the turban is of the Asiatic.

This story would be more often associated with Longacre's Indian Head cent, but the features of Liberty on both coins (and also the Type I gold dollar, the double eagle, and the three-cent nickel piece) are nearly identical.

"[8] Art historian Cornelius Vermeule stated that "the one area in which Longacre gave free rein to his imagination was in the matter of fancy headdress for his renderings of Liberty.

"[17] Nevertheless, Vermeule disliked the figure on the obverse, "the princess of the gold coins is a banknote engraver's[a] elegant version of folk art of the 1850s.

[13] As Longacre was busy with the reduced-weight silver coins ordered by Congress in the same act that had authorized the three-dollar piece, work on dies did not begin until 1854.

[19] The first three-dollar pieces were 15 proof coins, delivered to the Secretary of the Treasury, James Guthrie, by Mint Director Snowden on April 28, 1854, most likely for distribution to legislators.

The coinage of the 1854-D took place in August; the piece is today a rarity as few were put aside and it was not until decades later that mintmarked coins were saved as distinct varieties.

It is exceedingly annoying to that portion of the human family whose vision is dependent on artificial aid, and we think its retirement would meet with public approbation.

Today it forms part of the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection in the Money Museum of the American Numismatic Association in Colorado Springs.

In response, Pollock ordered Chief Engraver William Barber to re-engrave the date, opening the arms of the "3" wider on most denominations, including the three-dollar piece.

Julian suggests that the relatively large mintages of almost 42,000 in 1874 and some 82,000 in 1878 were struck in anticipation of the resumption of specie payments, but when this finally occurred at the end of 1878, "there was a loud yawn from the public and the Mint kept most of the pieces on hand, paying them out slowly as stocking stuffers.

[40] Large numbers of the 1879 three-dollar piece (mintage 3,000 for circulation), 1880 (1,000), and 1881 (500) were hoarded by early coin collector and dealer Thomas L. Elder, who asked bank tellers to look out for them.

[42] The relatively large mintage of about 6,000 in 1887 was due to a fad sweeping the country whereby men would present their lady friends with a coin with one side ground off and replaced by the woman's initials.

[43] In 1889, Mint Director James P. Kimball sent a letter to the House of Representatives Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures urging the abolition of the three-dollar piece.

[45] In 1934, Mint Director Nellie Tayloe Ross wrote in her annual report that a total of 539,792[1] three-dollar pieces had been coined, of which 452,572 were struck at Philadelphia, 62,350 at San Francisco (not including the 1870-S), 24,000 at New Orleans, and 1,120 at Dahlonega.

[46] According to Breen, three-dollar pieces "represent relics of an interesting but abortive experiment; today they are among the most highly coveted of American gold coins".