 This allowed them to be used multiple times for different denominations.As Longacre was busy with the reduced-weight silver coins ordered by Congress in the same act that had authorized the three-dollar piece, work on dies did not begin until 1854.The first three-dollar pieces were 15 proof coins, delivered to the Secretary of the Treasury, James Guthrie, by Mint Director Snowden on April 28, 1854, most likely for distribution to legislators.