1856 Small Head Indian Princess Gold Dollar

1856 was a transitional year for Indian Princess Head gold dollars. It marks the period when the size of the head was enlarged to consumer more of the obverse field. The change did not occur until later in the year though, leaving time for the United States Mint to strike a substantial 24,600 “small head” Indian Princess gold dollar coins at San Francisco in 1856.

In a grade of Extremely Fine-40, Indian Princess gold dollar coins are worth $1,500, which is much higher than the intrinsic value of the gold within the coin. For perspective, one dollar gold coins weigh 1.672 grams and contain 0.04837 ounces of gold. This is important for gold bullion investors to remember, as not all gold coins are ideal for bullion investment, nor is the value of all gold coins solely dependent on the intrinsic metal basis alone.

James B. Longacre designed the 1855 Indian Princess gold dollar coins. In fact, Longacre, who served as the Chief Engraver of the U.S. Mint, would end up designing all three types of the gold dollar coin. The larger head, adopted later in 1856 as aforementioned, would help improve the strike results for the smaller coin, which measures just 15 millimeters in diameter.