1795 Half Eagle Pattern - J-23

Coin Details

Auction Record

$40,250 VF30 01-01-2007 Heritage Auctions

Description

This 1795 copper half eagle pattern, cataloged as Judd-23 (Pollock-38, R.8), was struck from the same dies used for the regular-issue 1795 Small Eagle half eagle, rendered here in copper with a reeded edge. Unlike many off-metal pattern strikings that date to the collector-driven restrike era of the mid-nineteenth century, this piece is a contemporary die trial produced at or near the time of the original 1795 coinage. The obverse features Robert Scot's right-facing Liberty portrait with a cap and flowing hair, surrounded by stars and the date 1795. The reverse displays the small heraldic eagle perched on a palm branch within a wreath. Only two confirmed examples of Judd-23 are currently known to numismatists. Andrew Pollock III noted a third similar piece with heavily granular surfaces in his pattern reference, though he raised the possibility that it may be a cast counterfeit rather than a genuine Mint product.