1853 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-154

Coin Details

Auction Record

$10,120 PR64 05-20-1996 Bowers & Merena

Description

Judd-154, Pollock-183, rated High R.7. This copper striking of the 1853 Seated Liberty dollar was produced not as a circulating coin proposal but as a collector piece, made sometime in the 1860s or 1870s using leftover proof dies from the original year. The obverse features the standard Christian Gobrecht Seated Liberty design with thirteen stars and the date 1853, while the reverse displays the heraldic eagle with shield, olive branch, and arrows surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the ONE DOL. Denomination. The edge is reeded. A small number of silver proof restrikes were produced alongside these copper impressions, all intended for sale to the growing numismatic collector market. The practice of restrike production from retired dies was common at the Philadelphia Mint during this era, overseen by various officials who recognized the demand among collectors for proof specimens of earlier dates. Extremely few copper examples have survived.