1882 Proof Nickel Pattern - J-1696

Coin Details

Description

Twenty-first variety in the 1882 nickel pattern series, among the final designs produced in this unprecedented program. This penultimate nickel pattern represents the culmination of nearly two years of design work that began with Snowden's 1881 directive and progressed through more than thirty distinct pattern varieties. The obverse Liberty Head portrait has by this point achieved its definitive form — the elegant, classically inspired profile that would grace American nickels for the next thirty-one years, from 1883 through 1913. The reverse V-in-wreath design similarly shows the mature arrangement that would enter production. Struck in copper-nickel with a plain edge, J-1696 stands near the end of one of the most thoroughly documented coin design processes in American numismatic history, a record that provides invaluable insight into the creative methods employed at the Philadelphia Mint during the Gilded Age.

Rarity Notes

R-6 to R-7 (Very Rare to Extremely Rare). Estimated 8-12 specimens known.

Cross References

Judd J-1696, Pollock P-1898