1885 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-1747, Lettered Edge

Coin Details

Auction Record

$21,850 • PR66 NGC • 01-2008 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-1747 is one of the legendary 1885 dollar patterns, also known as the Snowden Dollar after Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Colonel A. Loudon Snowden, who initiated the experiment. The obverse and reverse carry the standard Morgan dollar design by George T. Morgan — Liberty's profile facing left with E PLURIBUS UNUM above and the date below on the obverse, and the heraldic eagle with spread wings clutching arrows and olive branch on the reverse. What sets this pattern apart is its revolutionary edge treatment: instead of the standard reeded edge used on production Morgan dollars, J-1747 features a raised lettered edge reading E PLURIBUS UNUM separated by stars, produced using a tripartite segmented collar that was an innovation of the Philadelphia Mint. Superintendent Snowden proposed this edge lettering as an anti-counterfeiting measure, reasoning that the complex edge would be extremely difficult for counterfeiters to replicate. The coin is struck in silver at the standard dollar weight. Although sometimes conflated with the Trade Dollar in older references — because the Trade Dollar had been officially discontinued in 1878 and any subsequent dollar-sized pattern carried an air of clandestine production — the design is unmistakably Morgan's standard silver dollar. The lettered edge experiment was ultimately not adopted for production, but the concept would resurface over a century later when edge lettering was applied to Presidential Dollars beginning in 2007. With approximately 12 to 20 examples believed extant, J-1747 is the most available of the 1885 dollar patterns, though still firmly in the category of major rarities.

Rarity Notes

R-6-. Approximately 12 to 20 specimens estimated, making it the most available of the 1885 dollar patterns.

Cross References

Judd J-1747, Pollock P-1959