1857 Quarter Pattern - J-188

Coin Details

Description

Judd-188 is an 1857 quarter dollar pattern featuring an experimental design or compositional variant of the Seated Liberty quarter that had been in production since 1838. The obverse depicts Liberty seated on a rock, holding a pole surmounted by a Phrygian liberty cap in her left hand and a shield in her right, with thirteen stars around the border and the date 1857 below. The reverse displays a heraldic eagle with outstretched wings, surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination QUAR. DOL. The mid-1850s were a period of significant change at the Philadelphia Mint, with the new Coinage Act of 1857 reshaping the landscape of American denominations. While the Act's most visible effects were the introduction of the small cent and the demonetization of foreign silver, the legislation also prompted review of existing denominations. Pattern strikings of currently circulating designs from this era often tested subtle modifications to weight, fineness, or die characteristics that might improve production efficiency or coin durability. The Seated Liberty quarter was approaching two decades of continuous production by 1857, and the dies had been refined considerably from the original Christian Gobrecht design. Robert Ball Hughes, Anthony C. Paquet, and other Mint engravers had made incremental improvements to the design over the years, and pattern pieces like J-188 may document one of these proposed modifications. The specific variant characteristics of this piece — whether compositional, dimensional, or design-related — contribute to the comprehensive record of the Seated Liberty quarter's evolution.

Rarity Notes

R.6 to R.7. Approximately 8-12 specimens survive.

Cross References

Judd-188