1854 $3 Indian Princes

The three-dollar gold piece was authorized by the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853, the same legislation that reduced the weight of silver coins to keep them in circulation. The stated purpose of the three-dollar denomination was to facilitate the purchase of sheets of three-cent postage stamps, which were sold in sheets of one hundred for three dollars. Whether this commercial justification was genuine or merely a convenient rationale for creating a new gold denomination has been debated since the coin's introduction. James B. Longacre designed the coin with a distinctive obverse showing a female figure wearing a feathered headdress, similar to his gold dollar design but scaled up significantly. The reverse displays a wreath of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco encircling the denomination.

Philadelphia struck 138,618 three-dollar gold pieces in 1854, the first year of the denomination. The coin weighs 5.015 grams with a diameter of 20.5 millimeters, placing it between the quarter eagle and half eagle in physical size. The 1854 is the most common date in the series and the standard type coin for collectors seeking a single representative. Circulated examples are available across a range of grades, and Uncirculated coins can be found with moderate searching.

The denomination never achieved widespread popularity. Three dollars was an awkward amount for everyday commerce, and the coin's size was close enough to the quarter eagle to cause occasional confusion. Production would decline steadily after the first year, and the three-dollar gold piece would spend most of its thirty-five-year existence as a low-mintage series produced for collectors and limited financial use.