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.

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?