(1838) Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-77, Restrike

Coin Details

Auction Record

$24,150 • PR66 • 07-27-2003 • Superior Galleries

Description

Cataloged as Judd-77 (Pollock-85), this copper restrike is rated High R.7, placing it among the rarest entries in the half dollar pattern series. The obverse presents Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty motif — Liberty perches on a rock, holding a pole topped with a liberty cap and resting her arm on a union shield inscribed LIBERTY in incuse letters. Thirteen stars encircle the figure with the date below. The reverse carries the heraldic eagle with outstretched wings, clutching an olive branch and arrows, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with the HALF DOLLAR denomination beneath. This piece was struck in copper on a plain-edge planchet. Known survivors uniformly display heavy die rust, consistent with their origin as restrikes produced in the 1870s for sale to the era's growing collector market. The silver companion, Judd-76, was struck from the same dies. An early auction record appears in the Parmelee Collection sale of June 1890, where both the copper and silver versions were offered as consecutive lots. The issue went unrecorded in Adams-Woodin and was absent from the 1914 ANS Exhibition. Approximately four examples survive in collector hands today.