Category Archives: Coin Trial

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Martha Washington and Experimental Coin Trials

A PCGS Trueview image of a Martha Washington pattern. Image: PCGS.
A PCGS Trueview image of a Martha Washington pattern. Image: PCGS.

By Joshua McMorrow-Hernandez for PCGS ……
It’s not just the nation’s Founding Fathers who have appeared on our nation’s money. Some of our Founding Mothers have, too! And one of the most revered of these figures is none other than Martha Washington, whose husband George was the first president of the United States. Martha Washington was the first First Lady of the United States and pioneered this ambassadorial role as there was generally no precedent for the role, she being the first in a long line to come.

Martha Washington first appeared on the 1886 $1 Silver Certificate and was later memorialized on the 2007 $10 First Spouse Gold Coin. But her likeness is also seen on many pattern coins the United States Mint has produced since the mid-1960s.

These experimental coins utilize a bust of Martha Washington on the obverse. This helps the coins from being confused as legal tender circulating coinage (none of which she appears on) while closely approximating the design parameters of other circulating coins that showcase the heads of other famous Americans.

In the book United States Pattern Coins by J. Hewitt Judd, editor Q. David Bowers expounds on the point that the Martha Washington “fantasy designs were prepared with no relation to current coinage motifs, in the present instance to avoid creating ‘rarities’ by using regular dies.” While Martha Washington appears on the bust of these experimental pieces, Mount Vernon, the Virginia home of the Washingtons, is showcased on the reverse. The date “1759”, seen on the obverse of these patterns, refers to the year she married George Washington.

The Martha Washington patterns emerged around 1965, when the U.S. Mint began experimenting with copper-nickel clad compositions in the historic transition from striking 90% silver dimes, quarters, and half dollars with debased planchets. The Martha Washington patterns were also made in preparation for many other U.S. coins, including the creation of new dollar coinage in the late 1990s with the retirement of the denomination’s Susan B. Anthony design.

When available to collectors, many of these Martha Washington pattern coins are worth thousands of dollars. One of the most recent prices realized for one of these patterns is $15,600 USD, hammered for a 1965-vintage copper-nickel half dollar pattern minted graded PCGS MS67.

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For more information from PCGS, click on the image below.

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Gold 1880 Flowing Hair Stella and 1879 Aluminum Pattern Offered by GreatCollections

While the United States Mint struck both the Flowing Hair and Coiled Hair Stella types between 1879 and 1880, these pattern pieces were never intended for circulation. Instead, they acted as a failed experiment to bring the United States’ gold currency into line with that of the Latin Monetary Union. For example, one Stella (worth […]

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GreatCollections to Auction Frosted Freedom $100 Platinum Eagle Trial

Just 12 examples minted as production proofs   A rare production proof accidentally released by the United States Mint 15 years ago was recently discovered by GreatCollections and will be auctioned on Sunday, November 13. The 2007 $100 one-ounce Platinum Eagle Frosted “FREEDOM” is one of just 12 coins minted by the U.S. Mint before […]

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Collect This: The Fabulous Italian 500 Lire Silver Coin

By Tyler Rossi for CoinWeek ….. In 1958, the Italian Mint in Rome began striking a silver coin that would come to be commonly called the Caravelle. The Mint would strike just under 100 million pieces for circulation from 1958 until 1967 when they subsequently began producing the same design exclusively in Brilliant Uncirculated and […]

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Unique Queen’s Beasts Gold Die Trial Among New Coins at Atlas Numismatics

By Atlas Numismatics …… Atlas Numismatics is pleased to offer our latest selection of coins and medals for your consideration. We hope that you may find something of interest for your collection and look forward to hearing from you if have any questions. Atlas Numismatics remains actively interested in purchasing individual items and whole collections if you […]

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The “Common” 1875 $10 Eagle Pattern Coin

By Leo Frese – Independent Numismatic Consultant, LeoFreseCoins.com ……   A few years ago, an East Coast gentleman consigned his collection for me to market. Among his holdings was a Pattern that was quite “interesting”. My research and insights follow. * * * From the numismatic perspective, 1875 was a rather exciting year. First, Congress […]

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Classic US Gold Coins – Experimental Finish 1910 Saint-Gaudens Twenty

The United States Mint struggled to find a popular finish for gold proof coins throughout the early 20th century Renaissance of American coinage that Roger W. Burdette has chronicled in his popular writings. Various types of sandblast and satin finishes were adopted at different times, and even more experimental finishes were briefly tinkered with, but […]

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Heritage Auctions – Seldom Seen Selections: 1922 High Relief Peace Dollar with Unique Antique Finish

Judd-2018 is a recently discovered trial striking of the 1922 High Relief Peace dollar, struck in business-strike format and first reported by David W. Lange in 2007. It is one of the rarest die combinations from 1921 to 1922, a time period when the Mint experimented extensively with the relief of Anthony de Francisci’s artistic […]

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