1870 Proof Quarter Pattern - J-893a

Coin Details

Auction Record

Description

J-893a was struck in nickel from the dies of J-888, the three-star cap Liberty head and the STANDARD wreath reverse. 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 three stars, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around her and IN GOD WE TRUST on a scroll below. 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. The single known piece, found by PCGS and first shown in Coin World on March 22, 1993, weighs almost 77 grains; USPatterns.com notes that part of UNITED STATES OF AMERICA shows under the wreath, so it may be a flip-over double strike or a clashed-die piece, and asks whether it is J-888a with nickel plating. It is struck in nickel with a reeded edge. USPatterns.com lists it as unique. It is also catalogued as Pollock-991. Cataloged as PCGS #71137.

Rarity Notes

unique (USPatterns.com)

Cross References

Judd-893a; Pollock-991