By 1871, the three dollar gold denomination had long outlived whatever usefulness it might have had, Paul M. Green, in an article for Numismatic News published October 21, 2008, needled the oft-floated rationale for the three dollar gold piece as a way to buy sheets of stamps, suggesting that perhaps a member of Congress anticipated 'an outbreak of pen pals.' Certainly, the 1,300 business strike three dollar gold pieces in 1871 did not buy too many stamps.