1859 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-250

Coin Details

Auction Record

$6,300 PR65BN 09-17-2020 Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-250 is a copper striking of the Paquet Seated Liberty with fasces obverse and 50 CENTS cereal wreath reverse, sharing the same die combination as the silver J-249. The obverse features Paquet's seated Liberty with fasces and shield design surrounded by thirteen stars and the date 1859. The reverse displays the cereal wreath enclosing 50 CENTS. Struck in copper with a reeded edge, this pattern presents the Paquet obverse design in copper's warm tones. Like other copper strikings in the 1859 series, J-250 is rarer than its silver counterpart. The Paquet Seated Liberty obverse and cereal wreath reverse combination represents one of the more sophisticated design proposals from the prolific 1859 pattern program, though ultimately neither design was adopted for production coinage.

Rarity Notes

R.7+. Fewer than 6 copper examples exist.

Cross References

Pollock-289