1854 Proof Cent Pattern - J-161, Original

Coin Details

Auction Record

$13,800 PR66 01-01-2007 Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-161, Pollock-187, rated R.4. This original striking shares the starless Braided Hair obverse and small ONE CENT laurel wreath reverse of the J-160, but is produced in bronze rather than copper. The omission of stars from the obverse gives the design a notably clean, uncluttered appearance compared to the standard large cent of the era. Struck on a smaller planchet than the circulating large cent, this pattern directly explores the concept of a reduced-size cent — maintaining a familiar design language while shrinking the physical coin. Bronze as a coinage metal offered advantages over pure copper in terms of hardness and wear resistance, and its inclusion in this pattern series foreshadowed the eventual switch to bronze composition for the Indian Head cent in 1864. The J-161 is also known in oroide, a gold-colored alloy of copper and tin. Original strikings can generally be distinguished from later restrikes by their sharper detail and die state.