1885 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-1750

Coin Details

Auction Record

$20,400 • PR65 PCGS • 08-2022 • Heritage Auctions

Description

Judd-1750 is an 1885 Morgan dollar pattern struck in white metal (a tin-based alloy) with a reeded edge. The obverse and reverse carry the standard Morgan dollar design by George T. Morgan, identical to the production coinage of 1885. White metal — typically an alloy of tin, antimony, and copper — gives this piece a dull silvery-gray appearance distinctly different from both the bright luster of silver and the light reflectivity of aluminum. White metal patterns are among the least common composition variants in the 1885 dollar series, as the Mint produced far fewer strikings in this alloy compared to silver and aluminum. The reeded edge indicates standard edge treatment rather than the experimental lettered collar used on J-1747 and J-1749. As a composition experiment, J-1750 had no practical purpose — white metal was far too soft and base for dollar coinage — and was produced solely for the numismatic market. The extremely limited survival of approximately 1 to 3 specimens places this piece among the rarest of all 1885 dollar patterns, eclipsed in rarity only by the most obscure sub-varieties in the series.

Rarity Notes

R-8. Only 1 to 3 specimens believed extant. Among the rarest of the 1885 dollar patterns.

Cross References

Judd J-1750, Pollock P-1963