1856 Mint Set with Gold

The small cent made its debut in the Mint Set for 1856. While technically a pattern, they were stuck in sufficient quantity and circulated widely enough to make them collectible as a business strike issue. As is typical for the decade, the greatest silver rarities will be found in the San Francisco issues. While mintages generally ran below that of Philadelphia and New Orleans, the fact that very few were saved in Mint State makes them quite costly and elusive today. Tossing in the gold issues turns a very completeable 16 coin set into a formidable 37-coin set. Heading the list is the nearly impossible 1856-O Double Eagle, which along with it's near twin (the 1854-O) make up the two of the keys to this extraordinarily difficult series. Even low grade (VF) examples run close to $200,000 and the lone Mint State survivor has brought in excess of $1,000,000. Lest you think the difficulty ends there, be prepared as well to search for a nice 1856-D Quarter Eagle. With a minuscule mintage of 874 pieces, only about 50 survive today and all but a few are circulated. Due to the large number of issues, and the numerous branch mints in operation, collecting a gold mint set from the late 1830s through the early 1860s takes both patience and a hefty wallet.

Notes: This set has bonuses. Please see the Set Composition for a listing.