1839 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-98, Restrike

Coin Details

Auction Record

$37,375 PR67 01-01-2009 Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-98, Pollock-108, High R.7. The copper counterpart to the silver Judd-97, this "Backward Head" half dollar pattern shares the same obverse design -- Liberty facing right with a rounded forward bust truncation and pointed rear edge, thirteen stars at the border, and the date 1839 below. The reverse is from the regular-issue Seated Liberty Large Letters die used on production half dollars from 1842 through 1853. Struck in copper with a reeded edge. Researcher Saul Teichman has attributed these restrikes to the 1870s, noting that the reverse die may correspond to one used for regular-issue proof half dollars of that era. This copper variety, like many off-metal pattern restrikes of the period, was produced strictly for the numismatic market. The use of a reverse die dating to the 1840s paired with an experimental obverse from 1839 underscores the creative -- and sometimes cavalier -- approach Mint officials took when assembling die pairings for collector pieces during this freewheeling period of American Mint history.