Lot 1329
1836 Pattern Two Cents. Copper, Plain Edge. Judd-54. Pollock-57 Low Rarity 6. NGC graded Proof 45 Brown. CAC Approved. Steel brown surfaces, light wear from circulation. One feels inclined to include an exclamation point after that last sentence in reference to it being circulated. But historians are reminded that in the period from Independence until 1857 (officially), all sorts of coins and tokens and private bank notes were used in the USA as money. People didn't think twice about it if they felt the coin or piece of paper money had the requisite value. How times have changed.
1836 is notable for the appearance of Patterns for two denominations which were not regularly issued until many years later, the two-cent piece and the gold dollar.
The two-cent piece had been proposed first in 1806 in a bill introduced into the U.S. Senate by a Mr. Tracey. The proposal was defeated probably because of the strong opposition of the Director of the Mint, Robert Patterson.'
By a strange coincidence, on December 12, 1836, his son, Robert M. Patterson, who had been appointed Director of the Mint by President Andrew Jackson, May 26, 1835, proposed the coinage of a two-cent piece, as well as a gold dollar, when he appeared before a Congressional committee considering the bill which became the Act of Jan. 18, 1837. No further measures were taken, however. The United States did not mint a two-cent piece until 1864. Pop 1; 7 finer, 3 in 64, 1 in 65, 3 in 66 (PCGS # 11198) .
Estimated Value $900 - 950.
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| Realized $2,300 |
