1836 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-70

Coin Details

Auction Record

$16,800 PR66BN 02-25-2021 Heritage Auctions

Description

Cataloged as Judd-70 (Pollock-73) and rated Low R.7, this copper striking is one of the earliest gold dollar pattern designs produced at the Philadelphia Mint. The obverse presents a radiant glory of sunbeams emanating from a Phrygian cap bearing the word LIBERTY, a motif clearly influenced by the Cap and Rays design found on contemporary Mexican silver coinage of the 1820s. The reverse displays the denomination 1 D. enclosed within a gracefully curving palm branch, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with the date 1836 positioned below. This particular specimen is struck in copper with a plain edge. The gold dollar patterns bearing this Cap and Rays design are widely recognized as restrike productions, manufactured around 1859 and continuing into later years for sale to the collector market. These restrikes appear in multiple die orientations, with some in medal turn and others in coin turn, and were produced across several compositions including silver, copper, and oroide (a gold-colored copper alloy). The design itself, attributed to Christian Gobrecht, represents one of several experimental approaches to the proposed gold dollar denomination that was under Congressional consideration during the mid-1830s, though the gold dollar would not enter regular production until 1849.