1870 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-940

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

The 1870 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-940 is a proof half dollar pattern struck at the Philadelphia Mint, part of the Standard Silver Patterns (1870) series. It belongs to the 1870 Standard Silver patterns, the lighter silver coins that Mint Director James Pollock proposed in his report for 1869 as a replacement for the fractional paper notes, and the Mint again sold sets of them to collectors for $15. On this obverse Liberty faces right in a cap bearing two stars, with LIBERTY in incuse letters on the ribbon and no B in its folds; USPatterns.com describes two such dies, one with the tip of the cap under the S of STATES and one, aligned like the 1869 head, with the tip under the E. Its reverse is the new design of 1870: the denomination and the date sit inside an open wreath of cotton and corn, with STANDARD in small letters at the top. Fewer than a dozen are known from the first die (Pollock-1053); the second die (Pollock-1067) is unconfirmed. It is struck in silver with a plain edge. USPatterns.com rates the first obverse die R-7 and the second R-8. It is also catalogued as Pollock-1053 and Pollock-1067, Adams-Woodin 915 and Taxay EP746. Cataloged as PCGS #61186.

Rarity Notes

R-7 / R-8 (USPatterns.com)

Cross References

Judd-940; Pollock-1053; Pollock-1067; Adams-Woodin 915; Taxay EP746