1855 G Three Dollar gold piece, PCGS AU53

Description

1855 G Three Dollar gold piece, authenticated / graded / encapsulated by PCGS at Almost Uncirculated, AU53.  What a special coin the Three dollar piece is, both to U.S. history and our own collections!  One specimen is all it takes to brighten up a collection, and one specimen is what we have cued up for sale here.
As our readers and collectors may know, the 1850s and on was a time of a sudden influx of riches from California and the rest of the West, in the form of amounts of mined gold bullion the likes of what had not been seen before, even in ancient times.  So, passing laws authorizing new denominations of gold coins was not hard, and so it proved with the new gold dollar and even gold double-eagle, the latter which makes a person's pocket heavy (just try it).  Records are a bit murky about why we got this coin, and researchers that been writing about it (= guessing) ever since.  Was it so you could buy a sheet of 100 3-cent stamps?  These did circulate in the Frontier West, as paper money was unlikely to be trusted much.  Whatever the reason, these sat in many bank cashier drawers (no, we don't know which compartment) and later, in the 1870s-1880s, were asked for and given as birthday gifts; saved ones in near-new conditions exist to be collected here, which may be why we have one in AU.
This specimen is at an enviable AU grade, with plenty of detail and brilliant gold lustre, readable Liberty on the headband, and no spots.  Problem-free coins can be hard to find and a joy when acquired.  We got this one, but well, it's for sale!  The "55s" are slanted in that Mint designer James Longacre-desired style.  This may be a gold but we treat it like our prized s and s.  We are pleased to offer this 1855 G Three Dollar gold piece, authenticated / graded / encapsulated by PCGS at Almost Uncirculated, AU53, for you.