1879 INDIAN PRINCESS $3 PR65+ Deep Cameo

In 1879, the USS Jeannette was purchased by James Gordon Bennett for the sole purpose of sending it on what would be known as the U.S. Arctic Expedition. The goal of the expedition was to set sail from San Francisco and head north through the Bering Strait and on to the North Pole. Members of the expedition were led to believe that a warm current traveled through the Bering Strait and would provide a safe passage through the ice. This would prove a costly assumption when the Jeannette became trapped in the ice and the crew was forced to abandon her in favor of a perilous march through Siberia. The men were luckily able to reach a native village that helped them, but of the 28 men that abandoned the ship only 14 made it to that point. This 1879 three-dollar gold coin recalls the ill-fated journey of the U.S. Arctic Expedition.