Owner Comments:
1860 Half Dollar in Copper
Judd-269, P-317
Rarity: R.8 PR65 BN CAC Endorsed
Defaced Inside the Mint
Es Simpson ; Judd Plate J-269 Coin 10th edition
Obverse/Reverse:
Struck from the regular No Motto Seated Liberty dies of 1860 in copper with the edge lettered E PLURIBUS UNUM.
Comment: Edge lettering on this piece is extremely faint. The most obvious presence on the edge are the stars at 6 and 12 o'clock (But hidden by holder). The heavy marks on each side are considered cancellation marks that occurred with the Mint and are therefore not considered damage. Rather, they add to the intrigue and importance of this extremely rare pattern, one of just three known.
The Steve Ivy 1983 catalog description comment “…The edge shows vague lettering, most probably from an edge collar used on bust halves. Only two stars and an indistinct letter or two are present…” and previously Kagin’s Aug 1983 ANA catalog states “… Visible are letters S, E and U, plus one five-point star …”
The current edge view holder one can clearly see one star at the 6 o’clock position and some of the faint lettering elsewhere
The surfaces are remarkably free from post-striking impairments. The color designation is listed as Brown, but this seems conservative as there is considerable underlying red on each side.
The Gem brown surfaces are virtually free of imperfections, featuring attractive blue toning, and considerable original red mint color.
Per USPattern.com only 3 examples are known, all defaced with chisel marks, and all 3 show some lettering on the edge.
1) Taylor-Windle (H Chapman 6/08) lot 1289?, Connecticut State Library, ex Mitchelson
2) Woodin, Newcomer, Boyd, Farouk, Judd, 66 ANA, Coronet Coin FPL (Krouner), Merkin 2/71, Queller-Heritage 4/09, Heritage 8/11 ANA, Heritage 8/16 ANA - NCSXF40, cleaned
3) This piece the Lohr, Cox, Lemus, Simpson piece
Provenance/Appearance:
From The Bob Simpson Collection Heritage Jan 2021 / Lot #3086, and again Heritage Jun 2021 / Lot #3243,
& Judd Plate J-269 Coin 10th edition
Priors:
- Ex: Major Lenox R. Lohr; An Outstanding Selection of United States Pattern Coins by Empire Coin Company, Inc (1960- 1961) Fix Price list ($275);
- R.E. Cox Collection (Stack's, 4/1962) /Lot #2206 ($200);
- Harry X Boosel Collection (RARCOA, 4/1972) /Lot #1019;
- RARCOA Jan 1973 FUN SALE / Lot #554;
- Mid-Winter ANA (Steve Ivy, 2/1983) /Lot #1786,
- Kagin's Aug 1983 ANA Lot #3026 (MS63 Bril Unc) /Lot #3026;
- Stack's (3/1985) /Lot #576;
- Lemus / Queller Family Collection / FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2009) /Lot #1584 (as NGC MS60BN and sold for $37,000),
Plate Coin PCGS Coinfacts for type J269