Search:
Type the text to search here and press Enter.
Separate search terms by a space; they will all be searched individually in all fields of the database. Click on Search: to go to the advanced search page.
Classifieds Only: Check this box if you want to search classifieds instead of the catalog.
Please help support TroveStar. Why?
This item is not for sale. This is a reference database.
US Coin - 1879 - Indian Princess Head Dollar - Philadelphia The image shown is the same design as the selected coin, though not necessarily the same year, mint or demonination.

Click on any image above to open the gallery with larger images.
Add a comment about this item.
It will be visible at the bottom of this page to all users.
Comment
Common NameGold Dollar
DenominationDollar
Year1879
MintPhiladelphia
SeriesIndian Princess Head Dollar
VariationType 2
MaterialGold 92
Mintage3,000
Diameter (mm)0.0
EdgeReeded



Designer: James Barton Longacre
History:

Chief Engraver James Barton Longacre created an “Indian Princess” for his obverse of this design. However, the model was not a Native American profile, but actually a profile modeled after the Greco-Roman Venus Accroupie statue then in a Philadelphia museum. Longacre used this distinctive sharp-nosed profile on his gold dollar of 1849 and would employ it again on the Indian Head cent of 1859. On the three-dollar coin Liberty is wearing a feathered headdress of equal-sized plumes with a band bearing LIBERTY in raised letters. She’s surrounded by the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Such a headdress dates back to the earliest known drawings of American Indians by French artist Jacques le Moyne du Morgue’s sketches of the Florida Timucua tribe who lived near the tragic French colony of Fort Caroline in 1562. It was accepted by engravers and medalists of the day as the design shorthand for “America.”

This design and it's variations appear on the dollar and three-dollar coins. A similar (but disctinctly different) pattern appears on the "Indian Cent".

Item created by: Lethe on 2015-05-31 17:46:30. Last edited by gdm on 2018-01-09 11:07:46

If you see errors or missing data in this entry, please feel free to log in and edit it. Anyone with a Gmail account can log in instantly.