1915 Gold Dollar Pattern - J-A1915-1, PAN PACIFIC

Coin Details

Description

A gold dollar pattern from the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition commemorative program, cataloged as an appendix entry in the Judd reference. The J-A prefix indicates this piece was discovered or reclassified after the main Judd catalog sequence was established, a designation commonly applied to items whose attribution required additional research. The Panama-Pacific Exposition, held in San Francisco from February to December 1915, celebrated two monumental achievements: the completion of the Panama Canal and San Francisco's remarkable recovery from the devastating 1906 earthquake and fire. The exposition's commemorative coinage program was the most ambitious the Mint had yet undertaken, ultimately producing five denominations — a gold dollar, a quarter eagle, a half dollar, and the legendary $50 round and octagonal gold pieces, the largest commemorative coins ever issued by the United States. The production gold dollar was designed by Charles Keck, featuring a profile of a Panama Canal laborer on the obverse and two dolphins flanking the denomination on the reverse. This pattern represents an alternative design proposal for the gold dollar denomination, carrying motifs thematically linked to the exposition. Its existence as an appendix entry indicates it was struck in limited numbers outside the normal pattern production sequence, as a private commission or as a late addition to the design evaluation process. The Pan-Pacific commemorative program generated enormous public interest and record-setting prices for the $50 pieces, establishing the exposition as a watershed moment in American commemorative coinage.

Rarity Notes

R-8 (Extremely Rare). Appendix-numbered Pan-Pacific patterns are among the rarest items in the commemorative pattern series, with very few specimens known.

Cross References

Judd J-A1915-1