Pattern Coins: The Designs America Almost Used

The Roads Not Taken

Pattern coins are experimental and trial pieces — the coins that almost were. They represent designs that were proposed, tested, debated, and ultimately adopted or rejected. Cataloged by Judd numbers, they document the creative process behind American coinage.

A Judd pattern coin — experimental designs struck by the Mint but never adopted for circulation, catalogued in the Judd reference guide

Some of the most fascinating include:

• The Stella ($4 gold, 1879-1880) — Created to match 10 French francs for international trade. Both Flowing Hair (Barber) and Coiled Hair (Morgan) versions exist. America's closest brush with metric coinage.
• Morgan's "Schoolgirl" Dollar — George T. Morgan proposed several Liberty designs before the Seated Liberty was replaced. Some feature strikingly modern-looking portraits.
• The "Amazonian" Patterns — Dramatic designs showing muscular Liberty figures that pushed the boundaries of numismatic art.
• 1943 Experimental Composition Cents — Wartime tests in glass, plastic, rubber, and various metal alloys.

Pattern collecting sits at the intersection of numismatics and American industrial design history.

Pattern Talk

• Do you collect patterns, or do you admire them from afar?
• Which rejected design do you wish had been adopted for circulation?
• The Stella, Amazonian designs, or another pattern — what's the most artistically compelling?
• How do you feel about the Judd numbering system for organizing patterns?