1836 Proof Two Cent Pattern - J-54a

Coin Details

Auction Record

$13,200 PR63 08-20-2019 Stack's Bowers

Description

Cataloged as Judd-54a, this variety represents the two-cent eagle-and-cloud design struck on a different planchet composition. Like its companion pieces in the 1836 two-cent pattern series, the obverse carries a small spread-winged eagle atop a cloud with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the date 1836, while the reverse displays TWO CENTS within a laurel wreath. As one of several composition variants produced from the same die pairing, this piece illustrates the Mint's practice of striking patterns in multiple metals to test the visual and practical qualities of different alloys for the proposed denomination. The 1836 two-cent patterns collectively represent one of the earliest sustained experiments with this denomination, predating the eventual adoption of the two-cent piece by nearly three decades when wartime necessity finally brought the denomination to fruition in 1864.