1838 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-75b

Coin Details

Auction Record

$9,000 • PR62BN • 09-09-2018 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-75b is a copper variant of the 1838 half dollar pattern pairing the Kneass-attributed Liberty head obverse (Obverse 1) with Anthony C. Paquet's perched eagle reverse of 1859. The obverse features Liberty facing left with luxuriant tresses, "LIBERTY" on the ribbon in her hair, seven stars to the left and six to the right, with the date 1838. The Paquet reverse displays a perched eagle with a ribbon across the shield, tall letters reading "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" and "HALF DOLLAR," with a broken ribbon, groups of three vertical lines in the shield, and six tail feathers. The suffix "b" in the Judd number indicates a copper composition rather than the silver of J-75a. Like J-75a, this is a restrike produced using the 1859-dated Paquet reverse die mated with the earlier 1838 obverse, and was coined in the early 1860s for sale to collectors. The copper composition makes it even scarcer than the silver version.

Rarity Notes

R.7+. Extremely rare; only 2-4 examples exist in copper.

Cross References

Pollock-83; also listed as J-255 in some editions