1857-C

Charlotte delivered 13,280 gold dollars in 1857, one of the facility's stronger production years for the denomination. The Charlotte Mint was in its final period of operation, producing gold coins from the diminishing output of North Carolina's gold region. The 13,280-coin mintage was the highest Charlotte gold dollar figure since 1851, though still trivial compared to Philadelphia's 774,789.

The 1857-C is one of the more available Charlotte gold dollars in the Type 3 series, but "available" is a relative term for any Charlotte coin. PCGS estimates roughly 100 to 150 survive across all grades. The typical example grades between Fine and Very Fine, with Extremely Fine coins scarce and Uncirculated examples genuinely rare. An MS63 sold for $14,100 at Heritage in April 2007.

Strike quality follows the Charlotte pattern: generally soft, with incomplete detail on Liberty's headdress and hair on the obverse. The Type 3 design, with its lower relief, struck up somewhat better at Charlotte than the Type 2 had, but the facility's inferior equipment and worn presses still left their mark. Charlotte gold dollars from any year carry the appeal of a small southern mint with a limited production window (1849-1859 for gold dollars) and the "C" mintmark that identifies them.

Charlotte would produce gold dollars through 1859, with the 1857-C sitting in the middle of that final stretch. The premium attached to Charlotte mint gold reflects the facility's small total output, its closure during the Civil War, and the regional character of the gold used to strike these coins.