1915 Proof Dollar Pattern - J-1965, Pan Pacific

Coin Details

Auction Record

$2,050 PR58 04-19-2019 eBay

Description

A primary-numbered Pan-Pacific silver dollar pattern, distinct from the sub-variety sequences cataloged under J-1793a and J-1793b. Judd-1965 represents a self-contained design concept for the dollar denomination within the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition commemorative program. The exposition, held in San Francisco's Marina District from February 20 to December 4, 1915, was one of the most important world's fairs in American history, celebrating both the completion of the Panama Canal — one of the greatest engineering achievements of the modern age — and the extraordinary rebuilding of San Francisco following the catastrophic earthquake and fire of April 1906. The commemorative coinage authorized for the exposition was unprecedented in its scope: five denominations ranging from the half dollar to the massive $50 gold pieces, the largest coins ever struck for a United States commemorative program. J-1965 carries Pan-Pacific thematic designs on a silver dollar-sized planchet, exploring how the exposition's imagery and symbolism might translate to the most traditionally important denomination in American coinage. The dollar had been at the center of American monetary policy debates since the Bland-Allison Act of 1878 and remained a denomination of great symbolic weight. This proof pattern was struck with mirror fields and frosted devices to present the design at its finest for evaluation by Mint officials and the Commission of Fine Arts.

Rarity Notes

R-7 (Extremely Rare). Pan-Pacific dollar pattern issues are among the most desirable commemorative-era patterns, with very few specimens recorded.

Cross References

Judd J-1965, Pollock P-2157