1855-O

The 1855-O is the last gold dollar New Orleans ever struck. New Orleans had produced the small Liberty Head Type 1 from 1849 through 1852, sat out 1853 and 1854 entirely, then returned for this single Type 2 delivery before the denomination disappeared from the branch's output for good. No Type 3 New Orleans gold dollar exists, which makes 1855-O both the only New Orleans Type 2 and the closing entry in a five-coin run that never reopened.

The Type 2 design carries a high-relief Indian Princess portrait by James B. Longacre that the presses simply could not pull through the planchet. Most surviving 1855-O coins show a weak date, soft hair detail above the headdress band, and indistinct wreath leaves on the reverse, and that softness is original to the strike rather than wear. New Orleans pressmen still produced sharper work than their counterparts in Charlotte or Dahlonega the same year, so a well-defined 1855-O is achievable; collectors should not penalize the date for what the dies could not deliver. The standard counterfeit diagnostic is an added New Orleans mintmark transferred onto an 1855 Philadelphia host coin. Inspect the mintmark for shallow seating, off-axis font, or a soldered seam at the base. Authentication by the Professional Coin Grading Service or Numismatic Guaranty Company is sensible at any grade, and effectively required above Extremely Fine.

With a Mint figure of 55,000 the 1855-O looks ordinary on paper, but the population census tells the truer story: PCGS and NGC together account for several hundred examples across all grades, with surviving counts running toward roughly a thousand once raw and lightly impaired pieces are included. The Semi-Key designation reflects that gap. Circulated examples in Very Fine and Extremely Fine appear in major auctions a handful of times a year and remain attainable for a focused buyer; About Uncirculated coins thin out quickly, and Mint State pieces are a serious commitment when they cross the block. For New Orleans gold specialists and Type 2 set builders the issue is structural and unsubstitutable. Collectors building broader context should consult the Indian Princess Small Head Gold Dollar series history.