1886 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. Proof-65 Cameo (PCGS).

1886 Three-Dollar Gold Piece. Proof-65 Cameo (PCGS).，This vivid orange-gold beauty will nicely represent the challenging Proof three-dollar gold series of 1854 to 1889. The vivid golden-orange surfaces on both sides of this beautiful example support razor sharp striking detail and a boldly cameo finish. Obviously handled with great care, the surfaces are smooth in appearance and fully deserving of the Gem grade from PCGS.<p>By 1886 the three-dollar gold series was rapidly approaching its end, which officially came in the form of this provision in the Coinage Act of September 26, 1890 (as quoted in <em>The United States $3 Gold Pieces: 1854-1889</em> by Q. David Bowers and Douglas Winter, 2005):<p><em>"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That from and after the passage of this act the coinage of the three-dollar gold piece, the one-dollar gold piece and the three-cent nickel piece be, and the same is hereby, prohibited, and the pieces names shall not be struck or issued by the Mint of the United States....</em><p><em>"That as fast as the said coins shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States they shall be withdrawn from circulation and be recoined into other denominations of coins...."</em><p>Although this act is dated late in 1890, the final three-dollar gold pieces were produced in 1889. Yearly circulation strike mintages had been limited throughout the entire series, in fact, and especially so after the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861. By the 1880s the Philadelphia Mint was delivering no more than 6,000 circulation strikes yearly, in most cases no more than 1,000 coins. Beginning in 1884, on the other hand, Proof mintages increased in response to heightened demand from contemporary numismatists. The 1886 was produced to the extent of 142 Proofs, surpassed by the mintages of only the Proof 1887 and Proof 1888. Most of the Proofs struck in 1886 were distributed and subsequently preserved. Numismatic experts are generally in agreement on the number of coins extant, Bowers and Winter providing a figure in the range of 80 to 100 coins and <em>PCGS CoinFacts</em> offering a similar range of 75 to 90 survivors. The present offering represents an important bidding opportunity for advanced gold type or date collectors.，From the A.J. Vanderbilt Collection. Earlier from Superiors Pre-Long Beach Elite coin Auction of January 2004, lot 3591; via Stacks.，