Lot 4497
1836 Pattern Dollar. Silver, plain edge. Restrike. PCGS graded Proof 61 PQ. CAC Approved. Name below base. A rare coin. Housed in an old green holder number 4104094. Listed in the standard Pattern reference as Judd-58, this has long been an issue surrounded by controversy and heated debate. Is it original (meaning struck in 1836; or could they have been minted in after years, that is, are they restrikes, struck perhaps as late as 1860? What is known for certain is that the line C. GOBRECHT F. stands for Christian Gobrecht, fecit (= "made this.") The fields are muted from the passage of time with evidence of light hairlines on each side. Mostly toned in varying light shades, there is an area of deeper steel with gray iridescence below the eagle. Sharply struck in all areas, including Liberty's foot, this underscores the high production standards used at the mint as early as 1836. This classic of American numismatics is rare enough that bidders may have to wait years for the next offering. Curiously, there are evidently no examples of Judd-58 known in the Smithsonian. Low Rarity 6. Pop 3; 12 finer, 2 in 62, 6 in 63, 2 in 64, 2 in 65 (PCGS # 11217) .
Dies for the Gobrecht dollar Patterns were engraved in 1836 by Christian Gobrecht, assistant to the ailing Chief Engraver, William Kneass. Gobrecht used as his model sketches made by Titian Peale and Thomas Sully. The obverse has the familiar figure of Liberty with flowing dress, seated on a rock, a staff and liberty cap in her hand. At the base, a shield inscribed LIBERTY in raised letters. An American eagle, some say modeled after Peter, the mint's adopted eagle, flies to the left within a field of twenty-six varying-sized stars. The 13 largest stars are meant to represent the original colonies, while the 13 smaller ones bring up the total to the number of states admitted to the Union since colonial times. (Michigan, the 26th states, was admitted in 1837.) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ONE DOLLAR around.
Estimated Value $60,000 - 70,000.
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| Realized $60,375 |
