James Barton Longacre became the fourth Chief Engraver at the U.S. Mint in 1844, but he was not well-received by the Mint Director and the Head Coiner of the Mint. When Longacre was selected by Congress to design the new one-dollar and twentydollar coins, the directors tried to have him fired. Longacre prevailed and so began the career of one of the greatest coin designers in U.S. history. Thevery first coin Longacre designed was the Liberty Head Gold Dollar. First minted in 1849, the coin actually had two reverse designs - the closed wreath and the open wreath. The Liberty Head Dollars that were minted at the Mint facility in Charlotte, NC (C), that year were all thought to be of the closed wreath variety. It wasn't until the early 1900s that the 1849-C "open wreath” variety was discovered. Today, only five examples of this Longacre masterpiece are known to exist. Available exclusively from American Mint, this solid 14k gold replica is meticulously reproduced from James B. Longacre's 1849-C Gold Liberty Head Dollar with the open wreath reverse. This stunning coin is minted to the highest quality "Proof” standard. This solid 14k gold coin is presented in its own protectivecapsule to preserve it for generations to come.