1885 Proof Half Dollar Pattern - J-1746

Coin Details

Auction Record

$27,600 PR64 07-25-2005 American Numismatic Rarities

Description

Judd-1746 is the 1885 Seated Liberty half dollar pattern struck in aluminum with a reeded edge. The obverse features Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty design with the shield and liberty cap on a pole, thirteen stars around the periphery, and the date 1885 below. The reverse displays the heraldic eagle with shield, arrows, and olive branch, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the top, and HALF DOL. at the bottom, with IN GOD WE TRUST on a scroll above the eagle. The Seated Liberty half dollar was in its penultimate decade of production in 1885 — it would be replaced by the Barber half dollar in 1892 following the coinage design competition of 1891. This aluminum striking serves as an unusual preservation of the design in a non-precious metal, complementing the silver production coins of the same year. Like other entries in the 1885 aluminum set, this piece was struck using regular production dies and has no experimental design content. Its value lies entirely in its extreme rarity and its role as part of the most comprehensive single-year pattern denomination survey of the era. Very few specimens are known, and examples seldom appear at public auction.

Rarity Notes

R-7 to R-8. Extremely rare, with fewer than 5 specimens believed extant.

Cross References

Judd J-1746, Pollock P-1958