1915 Proof Fifty Dollar Pattern - J-A1915-3, PAN PACIFIC

Coin Details

Description

An appendix-numbered pattern for the 1915 Panama-Pacific $50 gold denomination, the largest coins in American commemorative coinage history. The J-A prefix identifies this as an item added to the Judd catalog after the main numbering sequence was established, indicating it was discovered, reclassified, or reattributed after the initial cataloging effort. Patterns for the $50 Pan-Pacific denomination occupy the summit of American pattern coinage desirability: they combine the extreme rarity of pattern production with the legendary status of the $50 commemorative program. The authorized production pieces — both the round and the octagonal formats — were struck at the San Francisco Mint under the supervision of Superintendent T.W.H. Shanahan and were distributed through the exposition's commemorative coin sales department. Original purchasers paid $100 per coin, a price that restricted ownership to wealthy collectors and institutional buyers. J-A1915-3 represents a design proposal or variant that was part of the creative process leading to the adopted Aitken design, and as an appendix entry it came to scholarly attention after the standard catalog sequence had been closed. Its existence broadens the documentary record of how the most ambitious denomination in American commemorative history was developed.

Rarity Notes

R-8 (Extremely Rare). Appendix-numbered $50 patterns are among the rarest items in all of American numismatics.

Cross References

Judd J-A1915-3