1839 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-99, Restrike

Coin Details

Auction Record

$40,250 PR61 01-01-2009 Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-99, Pollock-109, R.8. This rare pattern pairs the regular Capped Bust half dollar obverse die, as used from 1836 through 1839, with a distinctive reverse showing an eagle with head turned to the viewer's right, grasping an olive branch in one talon and four arrows in the other. Standard inscriptions encircle both sides. Struck in silver with a reeded edge. Collectors of later nineteenth-century coinage will immediately recognize the reverse design as a close precursor to the motif adopted for the short-lived twenty-cent piece of 1875-1878. While the positions of the arrows and olive branch are switched and minor details differ, the strong family resemblance is unmistakable. This same obverse die also appears on Judd-72, Pollock-75 of 1838. The recorded weight of the most prominent surviving specimen is 192 grains, consistent with the post-1853 restrike weight standard rather than the original 206.25-grain specification. Combined with the heavy die rust visible on both sides, this evidence firmly places production in the 1870s, when these pieces were struck for sale to collectors during the permissive tenure of Mint Director Henry R. Linderman.