1866 Three Dollar Pattern - J-C1866-2

Coin Details

Auction Record

$5,040 UNC Details 03-25-2020 Stack's Bowers

Description

This privately-produced pattern explores an alternative design for the three-dollar gold denomination, which was an active series from 1854 through 1889. The obverse features a bearded bust of President Abraham Lincoln facing right, with the motto "GOD AND OUR COUNTRY" arched above and the date 1866 below. The reverse displays a wreath composed of intertwined oak and laurel leaves encircling the Roman numeral "III," with scroll ornamentation and a star at the top. This piece is part of a small family of privately-struck three-dollar patterns bearing the 1866 date, have been actually produced around 1868. The Lincoln portrait obverse is notable because Lincoln never appeared on any official US gold coinage, making these private patterns among the earliest attempts to memorialize the assassinated president on a coin-like medium, just three years after his death in 1865. The J-C1866-2 variety is distinguished from the J-C1866-1 (the primary Merriam attribution) and J-C1866-6 by differences in die state or composition. These pieces are listed in Appendix C of the Judd pattern reference and the "Semi-Official and Private Patterns" section of the Pollock catalog, reflecting their status as items of numismatic interest that fall outside the official Mint production sequence.

Rarity Notes

R-7 or higher (estimated 4-12 known). All varieties in the C1866 group are extreme rarities struck in very small quantities.

Cross References

Judd-C1866-2; Pollock-5085