1885 Proof Quarter Eagle Pattern - J-1752

Coin Details

Description

Judd-1752 is the 1885 Coronet quarter eagle pattern struck in aluminum with a reeded edge. The obverse features the Coronet Head Liberty design by Christian Gobrecht with LIBERTY on the coronet, thirteen stars, and the date 1885. The reverse displays the heraldic eagle with shield, arrows, and olive branch, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and 2 1/2 D. around the border. The $2.50 quarter eagle denomination was one of the longest-running designs in American numismatics — the Coronet Head type had been in production since 1840 and would continue until 1907, when it was replaced by Bela Lyon Pratt's incuse Indian Head design. The 1885 quarter eagle is itself a scarce issue in regular production gold, with a mintage of only 887 pieces for circulation and a small proof production. The aluminum pattern J-1752 is dramatically rarer still, with the full $2.50 denomination expressed on a planchet weighing a fraction of the gold original. Like all entries in the 1885 aluminum set, this piece was produced for the collector market and represents no practical compositional or design experiment. Examples are exceedingly rare and seldom appear at public auction.

Rarity Notes

R-8. Only 1 to 3 specimens believed extant.

Cross References

Judd J-1752, Pollock P-1965