1884 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-1732, Silver-Plated Copper

Coin Details

Auction Record

PCGS PR60 realized $188,000 (Heritage, April 2017).

Description

One of the most unusual entries in the Judd catalog, J-1732 is a Trade Dollar pattern struck on a copper planchet and then plated with silver to simulate the appearance of the standard silver Trade Dollar. The silver plating was apparently applied after striking, creating a coin that superficially resembles its precious-metal counterpart but is fundamentally a base-metal piece. Mint records indicate that the copper strikings were the first coins produced from the 1884 Trade Dollar dies — die record keeper A.W. Straub noted delivery of the dies on January 3, 1884, with copper trial impressions preceding the silver proof strikings. Only two copper Trade Dollar specimens from 1884 are known to survive. Both were originally presented to nineteenth-century numismatist A.M. Smith. One resides in the National Numismatic Collection at the Smithsonian Institution, making the other the sole collectible example. The silver plating on surviving specimens has been noted since at least 1980, when the piece was formally identified as silver-plated copper rather than solid silver. This pattern provides critical evidence about the Mint's production sequence for the controversial 1884 Trade Dollars.

Rarity Notes

R-8 (Extremely Rare). Only 2 specimens known — one in the Smithsonian Institution, one in private hands. Among the rarest of all American pattern coins.

Cross References

Judd J-1732, Pollock P-1943