 However, gold ore used at the southern branch mints of Charlotte and Dahlonega had a high natural silver content, and many of these coins contained up to five percent silver, giving them a distinct so-called "green gold" color.Its weight was virtually the same, 8.359 grams, but the diameter was reduced one final time, to 21.6 mm, in 1840, for a gold content of 0.242 Troy Oz.This design was used for nearly 70 years, from 1839 to 1908, with a modest change in 1866, when "IN GOD WE TRUST" was placed on the reverse above the eagle.