1859 Proof Dime Pattern - J-233, Transitional

Coin Details

Auction Record

$41,400 PR66 04-07-2005 Bowers & Merena

Description

Cataloged as Judd-233, this transitional 1859 dime was created when the Mint paired the existing Seated Liberty obverse with a new cereal wreath reverse before the obverse dies had been updated to match. The result is a coin that bears the stars-on-obverse design of 1838-1859 on one side and the cereal wreath reverse of 1860-1891 on the other, notably omitting the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA entirely, since it was being moved from the reverse to the obverse as part of the design change. Mint Director James Ross Snowden championed James B. Longacre's cereal wreath reverse motif, which was ultimately adopted for both dimes and half dimes beginning in 1860. The new reverse dies were completed and placed into use before the corresponding obverse dies were modified to carry the national identity in place of the thirteen peripheral stars, giving rise to this transitional pattern. Production of an estimated 800 proof sets in 1859 exceeded market demand, and an unrecorded number of unsold coins were eventually melted, making the true net mintage undocumented.