1915 Proof Fifty Dollar Pattern - J-1971

Coin Details

Description

A pattern for the 1915 Panama-Pacific $50 gold piece, the largest denomination ever produced for a United States commemorative program. The $50 Pan-Pacific gold coins — produced in both round and octagonal formats — represent the pinnacle of American commemorative coinage ambition. Designed by Robert Aitken, the production pieces feature Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, on the obverse and an owl perched on a pine branch on the reverse. J-1971 documents one of the design proposals evaluated during development of these extraordinary coins. The $50 pieces were authorized in an unusually specific Act of Congress that permitted the production of "gold coins of the denomination of fifty dollars of appropriate designs" — language that gave the Mint considerable artistic latitude. Only 1,510 round and 1,500 octagonal specimens were produced for the exposition, with original issue prices of $100 each — equivalent to roughly $3,000 in modern purchasing power. These coins were sold primarily to wealthy collectors and exposition dignitaries, and their extreme rarity and historical significance have made them among the most valuable American commemorative coins, with specimens regularly achieving six-figure prices at auction. Pattern strikings for the $50 denomination are rarer still, as they were produced solely for design evaluation purposes.

Rarity Notes

R-8 (Extremely Rare). Fifty-dollar denomination patterns are among the rarest American pattern coins, with very few examples documented.

Cross References

Judd J-1971, Pollock P-2163