1880 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-1650

Coin Details

Auction Record

$16,500 PR65 08-11-1990 David Akers

Description

The aluminum composition variant of Morgan's Liberty head metric dollar, completing the second trio of 1880 dollar patterns. This ethereally light coin presents Morgan's robust Liberty portrait in a metal that renders it almost weightless — a peculiar sensation given that the reverse inscription specifies a weight of 14 grams in the goloid alloy. The contrast between the coin's visual heft (Morgan's Liberty is a substantial, muscular portrait compared to the more delicate Barber coronet version) and its negligible physical weight would have been immediately apparent to anyone handling the piece. Aluminum patterns from this period have attracted intense collector interest precisely because they represent a fleeting moment when aluminum was simultaneously rare, expensive, and the subject of serious monetary experimentation. Andrew W. Pollock III has noted that congressional interest in the goloid composition had largely evaporated by 1881, making these 1880 strikings the last gasp of a program that never progressed beyond the pattern stage.

Rarity Notes

R-7 to R-8. Fewer than 8 specimens survive. The aluminum composition is typically the rarest in each metric dollar design group.

Cross References

Judd J-1650, Pollock P-1850