- PCGS #:
- 7992
- Designer:
- James Barton Longacre
- Edge:
- Reeded
- Diameter:
- 20.50 millimeters
- Weight:
- 5.02 grams
- Mintage:
- 1
- Mint:
- San Francisco
- Metal:
- 90% Gold, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $5,520,000 • SP50 • 01-05-2023 • Heritage Auctions
Major Varieties
- 1870-S $3
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 1 |
| 60 or Better | |
| 65 or Better | |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-10.0 |
| 60 or Better | R-10.1 |
| 65 or Better | R-10.1 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | N/A |
| 60 or Better | N/A |
| 65 or Better | N/A |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | N/A |
| 60 or Better | N/A |
| 65 or Better | N/A |
Condition Census What Is This?
#1 PCGS SP50
San Francisco Mint Chief Coiner Joseph B. Harmstead; possibly Francis Harmstead (his wife, mounted in a necklace, per Nancy Oliver and Richard Kelly); Sarah Fay; Charles Luther Fay; Charles Ralph Fay; Harry Terry Van Camp, advertised in The Numismatist in April 1907; William H. Woodin, via private sale; “The Woodin Collection,” Thomas Elder, March 1911, Lot 1160 – $1,450; Samuel Hudson Chapman; Waldo C. Newcomer, $2,000; B. Max Mehl, 1931; “Colonel” E.H.R. Green; Green Estate (1936); St. Louis coin dealer B.G. Johnson; offered on consignment on July 5, 1944 by Hollinbeck Coin Company (Art Kagin) to Louis E. Eliasberg for $8,500, but Eliasberg passed; on consignment to Abe Kosoff in 1945, offered to Eliasberg again, but passed again; B.G. Johnson to Celina Coin Company (Ted and Carl Brandts), September 11, 1945 – $7,000, advertised in the December 1945 issue of The Numismatist; sold to Stack’s, January 1946 – $11,550; Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr.; Eliasberg Estate (1976-1982); “The United States Gold Coin Collection (Eliasberg),” Bowers and Ruddy, October 1982, Lot 296 – $687,500 Stack’s, acting as agent for Harry W. Bass, Jr.; Harry Bass Core Collection. As PCGS SP50 #46095412. “The Harry W. Bass, Jr. Collection, Part II,” Heritage Auctions, January 5, 2023, Lot 9013 – $5,520,000; "The HighReliever Collection" (PCGS Set Registry). Graffiti, ex-jewelry, cleaned. Only example in private hands. |
The Enigmatic 1870-S Three-Dollar Gold Piece
The 1870-S Three-Dollar Gold Piece (#7992) is a legendary numismatic rarity whose origin is draped in historical significance. However, its presence in private hands has long called into question the specific details of the coin’s creation.
The story began on May 25, 1870, during a Masonic ceremony for the second San Francisco Mint. A copper casket was interred in the northeast cornerstone containing a collection of contemporary rarities, including an 1870-S $3 gold coin struck specifically for the occasion using modified dies.
Prior to the creation of this piece, the Three-Dollar Gold denomination had not been struck at the San Francisco Mint since 1860. Furthermore, no other Three-Dollar Gold pieces would be struck there for the remaining duration of the series' production. For decades, the specimen sealed within the cornerstone was assumed to be the sole example in existence.
The Mystery of the Second Coin
In 1907, the hobby was stunned when dealer H.T. VanCamp advertised a second 1870-S $3 gold piece in The Numismatist. His ad claimed:
“HERE IS A COIN ALL ALONE BY ITSELF. Never in circulation - never before in the market. With the Coin is an interesting little history by the Coiner who made it.”
The ad drew the attention of future Treasury Secretary William H. Woodin, himself a major collector. After his purchase, Edgar H. Adams described the coin's original story in more detail:
“Only one specimen of this coin is known, this being now in the possession of a well-known New York collector [William H. Woodin]. It is said that the dies were used by a coiner of the San Francisco Mint to strike two specimens in 1870. One of those was placed in the cornerstone of a public building of that city. The mint records do not mention the issue of a coin of this denomination and letter.”
Without the benefit official Mint records detailing the production of 1870-S Three Dollar Gold Coins and because the San Francisco Mint's cornerstone remained sealed, numismatists were baffled. It took over a century for Nancy Oliver and Richard Kelly (2004) to uncover the truth: Joseph Breck Harmstead, a coiner at the San Francisco Mint, had hand-carved the "S" mintmark onto a die and struck two examples.
- The First: Placed in the cornerstone.
- The Second: A gift for his niece, Georgine, which eventually reached VanCamp.
Georgine mounted the future multiple-million dollar rarity on a piece of jewelry. A crudely cut 893 is etched on the reverse in the space above the opening of the wreath.
Researchers Richard Kelly and Nancy Oliver have propsed that the numbers refer to the coin’s gold fineness, even though gold was mandated to be .900 fine. Gold coin expert Doug Winter is skeptical of this explanation, noting no definitive explanation exists.
The "interesting history" that VanCamp wrote about in his 1907 ad apparently came in the form of Harmstead's original letter to his niece. While this letter allegedly verified the coin’s origin, it has since disappeared. Sadly, the letter no longer exists, and there is no known transcription of its contents. Perhaps it was destroyed to enhance the coin's "uniqueness" or to cover for its potentially unauthorized production.
A Star-Studded Provenance
Known as the "Eliasberg-Bass Specimen," this unique-in-private-hands rarity has been held by the most legendary names in coin collecting: William H. Woodin, Waldo Newcomer, "Colonel" E.H.R. Green, Louis E. Eliasberg, Sr., and Harry W. Bass, Jr.
The coins is currently ranked #17 in PCGS Hall of Fame dealer Jeff Garrett’s 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. As the "holy grail" for $3 gold collectors, it remains a cornerstone—literally and figuratively—of American numismatic history.
* * *
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.