1839 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-93, Original

Coin Details

Auction Record

$43,200 PR65+ 02-25-2021 Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-93, Pollock-105, R.7. This original half dollar pattern features an obverse by Christian Gobrecht depicting Liberty facing right with her hair gathered in a bun, a single long curl trailing beneath the ear. Thirteen stars encircle the design with the date 1839 below. The obverse portrait is closely related to the design Gobrecht employed on the 1838 gold eagles, though oriented in the opposite direction. The reverse uses the regular Small Letters die from the production Seated Liberty half dollars of approximately 1839 to 1842. Struck in silver with a reeded edge. This is the only original striking produced from this particular obverse die, making it a uniquely important piece in the 1839 half dollar pattern series. The design represents one of several experimental obverse configurations that Gobrecht and his contemporaries explored during the critical design transition of the late 1830s, when American silver coinage was evolving from the Capped Bust style toward the Seated Liberty motif that would dominate for the next half century.