1838 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-72

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

Cataloged as Judd-72 (Pollock-75) with a rarity rating of R.5, indicating an estimated 31 to 75 surviving examples (uspatterns.com puts the total at 50 to 60), this silver half dollar pattern from 1838 features a distinctive obverse design. A draped bust of Liberty faces left, wearing a diadem with a ribbon inscribed LIBERTY in her hair. The date appears below the bust. The reverse displays a spread-winged eagle grasping four arrows in one talon and an olive branch in the other, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination HALF DOLLAR around the periphery. Struck in silver with a reeded edge, virtually all known specimens exhibit medallic die alignment (both sides oriented the same way when the coin is rotated on its vertical axis), rather than the coin-turn alignment used on regular issue coinage. This consistent medallic orientation across the surviving population indicates it was a deliberate choice during production. The Judd-72 pattern represents one of several experimental half dollar designs explored during this transitional period as the Mint refined the Seated Liberty motif that would ultimately define American silver coinage for over half a century. Reference data: struck in silver with a reeded edge, rated R-5. Catalogued as Judd-72, Pollock-75, A/W 70, Taxay EP94. restruck throughout the 1850s to the mid 1870s - Originals should weigh 206 grains and restrikes 192 grains but there are also miscellaneous coins which are difficult to classify.

Rarity Notes

R-7 originals, R-5 restrikes (USPatterns.com)

Cross References

Judd-72; Pollock-75; Adams-Woodin 70; Taxay EP94