1880 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-1647

Coin Details

Auction Record

$41,125 PR66 04-24-2013 Heritage Auctions

Description

Completing the first trio of 1880 goloid metric dollars, J-1647 renders the Barber coronet Liberty design in aluminum — a metal that in 1880 still commanded near-precious-metal prices, years before the Hall-Heroult electrolytic process would make it commercially affordable. The resulting coin is startlingly lightweight, weighing only a fraction of the 14 grams specified on its own reverse inscription, underscoring the experimental nature of these strikings. Aluminum patterns from the late 1870s and early 1880s occupy a curious position in American numismatics: they tested a metal that was genuinely exotic and expensive at the time but would become ubiquitously cheap within two decades. The bright silvery surface of aluminum gave the coin an appearance superficially similar to the intended goloid alloy, though the dramatically reduced weight immediately betrayed the substitution. These aluminum strikings are typically the rarest composition in each goloid metric dollar group.

Rarity Notes

R-7 to R-8. Fewer than 7 specimens are believed extant. Aluminum strikings are consistently the scarcest composition variant in the goloid metric series.

Cross References

Judd J-1647, Pollock P-1847