 The continued flow of gold from California made silver expensive in terms of gold , and U.S. silver coins began to flow out of the country for melting in 1849 , a flow that accelerated over the next several years as the price of the metal continued to rise . By 1853 , a thousand dollars in silver coin contained $ 1 @,@ <unk> worth of <unk> . As silver coins vanished , the gold dollar became the only federal coin in circulation between the cent and the quarter eagle ( $ 2 @.@ 50 piece ) . As such , it was struck in large numbers and widely circulated . According to Bowers in his book on the denomination , " the years 1850 to 1853 were the high @-@ water mark of the gold dollar , the glory years of the denomination when the little gold coins took the place of half dollars and silver dollars in everyday transactions . " This time came to an end in 1853 when Congress passed an act reducing the weight of most silver coins , allowing new issues of them to circulate . 
