1870-S $3 (Special Strike)

David Akers (1975/88): This coin is one of the most famous of all U.S. gold coins. The Superintendent of the San Francisco Mint indicated that only a single piece had been struck to be put into the cornerstone of the new mint building. However, a specimen appeared in the William H. Woodin Sale in 1911 and was claimed to be a duplicate of the coin in the cornerstone. It is probable that the two coins are one and the same and today it is widely accepted that the 1870-S three dollar gold piece is unique. The lone piece is in the collection of the late Louis Eliasberg of Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Eliasberg purchased the coin through Stack's and the Celina Coin Company for $11,500 in January of 1946, the same month in which he purchased the 1854-S half eagle for less than half that amount ($5500). This, of course, was an astonishing price for the period, although it was $2500 less than the amount that Mr. Eliasberg had paid Abe Kosoff for an 1822 half eagle in July of 1945. Prior to being in the possession of Ted and Carl Brandts who owned the Celina Coin Company, the 1870-S was in the Brand Collection.

The unique piece in the Eliasberg Collection is not in choice condition and, in fact, it has the "pebbled" appearance of a coin that has been used as jewelry. There is also minor damage at the obverse rim below the bust, indicating that the coin probably was worn on a key chain or watch fob. The numerals "893" have also been scratched upside down into the reverse field above the wreath. The S mintmark is totally unlike the mintmark on any U.S. coin, in particular the S Mint coins of 1870, lending credence to the story that the mintmark was cut into the die by hand after the die reached San Francisco.

David Hall:

The 1870-S three dollar gold piece is unique. The following is the pedigree;

1. Eliasberg- Bass specimen, EF-40 PCGS estimated grade

• H.T. Van Camp (1907?). Advertised in the Numismatist.
• William H. Woodin (?-1911)
• Thomas Elder auction sale of the William Woodin collection (March, 1911). The reserve bid was $1,000 and the coin sold for $1,450.
• Waldo C. Newcomer (1920?-1930's?)
• B. Max Mehl (?). Mehl sold the massive Necomer collection piecemeal on a consignment basis.
• Celina Coin Company (Ted and Carl Brandts). Advertised in the Numismatist in 1945 for $25,000.
• Stack's (1946) as an agent for Louis Elisberg
• Louis Eliasberg (1946-1982). Purchased thru Stack's from Celina Coin Company in January, 1946 for $11,500, a huge price at the time.
• Bowers and Ruddy Galleries (Q. David Bowers & James F. Ruddy) auction sale of the Louis Eliasberg collection of U.S. gold coins (October, 1982). The coin brought $687,500, a record price for a U.S. gold coin (and a price tied the next day when the Eliasberg 1822 $5 also brought $687,500). The coin was purchased by Harry Bass
• Harry Bass (& estate) (1982 to date). Purchased by Harry Bass at the October, 1982 Eliasberg auction for $687,500.