1883 Proof Nickel Pattern - J-1706

Coin Details

Auction Record

$15,525 PR65 01-01-2009 Heritage Auctions

Description

This proof pattern replicates the J-1704/J-1705 design pairing — the Liberty Head obverse with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA legend and the "PURE NICKEL" wreath reverse — but was struck in aluminum, creating a notable contradiction between the coin's inscription and its actual composition. Aluminum was still a semi-precious metal in 1883, valued at roughly the same price as silver due to the difficulty of refining it before the Hall-Heroult electrolytic process was commercialized in 1886. The Mint had experimented with aluminum patterns since the 1860s, and the metal's extreme lightness made it immediately distinguishable from nickel or copper-nickel planchets. The aluminum striking of a die inscribed "PURE NICKEL" was almost certainly intentional — the Mint routinely struck pattern dies in off-metal compositions to evaluate design details independent of the intended production metal. The resulting coin weighs a fraction of what a nickel-composition version would, giving it a distinctive hand feel that would have been immediately obvious to anyone examining it. This compositional mismatch between inscription and metal makes J-1706 one of the more intellectually interesting pieces in the 1883 pattern series, documenting the Mint's systematic approach to testing all possible design-metal combinations.

Rarity Notes

R-7 (Very Rare). Approximately 7-12 examples estimated. Aluminum patterns from 1883 are scarce as the metal was still expensive and rarely used for large-scale pattern production.

Cross References

Judd J-1706, Pollock P-1910