1856-S $3 MS61 认证号29529685, PCGS号7975

Small S. This is a scarcer variety for the 1856-S three dollar gold piece, which claims a mintage of 34,500 coins. That total is somewhat high in the context of the series but clearly low in the grand scheme of American numismatics. In 2005, Dave Bowers estimated 450 to 575 pieces extant in circulated grades, making the 1856-S fairly collectible. However, only 10 to 15 examples were believed to survive in Mint State, confirming the issue's status as a condition rarity. The present MS61 coin displays full strike definition on the headdress, curls, and wreath, along with, frosty glowing luster around the borders on each side. Orange-gold surfaces exhibit scattered marks and hairlines typical of a coin in this grade.

Ron Guth

The San Francisco Mint produced Three-Dollar gold pieces in four years.  Of those four, the 1856-S has the largest mintage.  However, at 34,500 coins, this is a puny amount by any standard, certainly in comparison to the multi-million and billion coin mintages of today.  

The mintmarks on the 1856-S Three-Dollar gold pieces come in three different sizes: Small, Medium, and Large.  According to Q. David Bowers and Doug Winter, 80% are of the Medium Mintmark variety, 2-3% are of the Large Mintmark variety, and approximately 15% are of the Small Mintmark variety.  The Medium and Large Mintmarks are very difficult to tell apart; the Small S is clearly smaller than any other.

Mint State 1856-S Three-Dollar gold pieces are very rare, with perhaps 10-20 known (we know of roughly ten demonstrably different examples.  The best appear to be a trio of PCGS MS64's.

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David Akers (1975/88)

The 1856-S has the fifth highest mintage of the series and, not surprisingly, the fifth greatest number of auction records in our 238 catalogue auction survey. However, the overwhelming majority of those records are for low grade specimens (116 out of 177 were VF or less) and, indeed, the 1856-S is very difficult to obtain better then EF. In fact, this date is ranked third overall in rarity according to average grade, although it is more obtainable in unc. than the 1854-D, 1865, or the other S Mint three dolalr gold pieces. There are three different size mintmarks on the 1856-S, small, medium, and large. The small S is the same size as on the 1860-S while the large S is the same as on the 1855-S and 1857-S. The most common of the three varieties is the Medium S variety and both the Large S and Small S varieties are rare in any condition.