1839 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-102a

Coin Details

Description

Judd-102a, Pollock-114. This unique half dollar pattern represents a second rendition of the 1839 Seated Liberty half dollar design, combining the "With Drapery" Seated Liberty obverse with an experimental reverse. Only a single specimen is confirmed to exist, making it among the rarest of all American pattern coins. The coin's provenance traces back to prominent early twentieth-century collector Virgil M. Brand, though documented ownership can only be confirmed from the 1961 sale of the Gustav Lichtenfels Collection, conducted by Abner Kreisberg and Hans Schulman. Noted collector John Jay Pittman acquired the piece at that sale, and it subsequently passed through David Akers' 1998 auction of the Pittman Collection to proof specialist Phil Kaufman. A decade later, it was offered as part of Kaufman's celebrated collection of Seated Liberty proofs spanning half dimes through silver dollars. The survival of this singular coin through such distinguished hands underscores the reverence collectors have held for these transitional 1839 half dollar patterns.