 The gold dollar and three-dollar piece were not coined after 1889, and were abolished by Congress on September 26, 1890.In the 1890s, 49,087 three-dollar pieces were melted as obsolete at the Philadelphia Mint.Although no list was kept by years, Bowers suggests that many of the pieces were dated 1874 or 1878 (both years with relatively high mintages), or were from the final years of the series.