The Amazing Judd-115 1849

泉神贯注-大平

The historic and unique Judd-115 1849 “Handmade” Gold Dollar pattern, with this piece eclipsing $100,000 in a January 2024 auction.

By Doug Winter - August 12, 2024
Original link: https://www.pcgs.com/news/the-amazing-judd-115-1849-handmade-gold-dollar-pattern

One of my all-time favorite gold issues is the rare 1849 Pattern Dollar (Judd-115), which is the only United States coin that was entirely engraved by hand at the United States Mint. Douglas Winter Numismatics purchased the highest-graded example of just four known in gold at a 2024 Heritage Auctions sale for $105,000, later selling this extremely historic and visually cool piece to a prominent collector working on a high-quality set of gold dollars.

I first learned about this issue when I read the New England Rare Coin Galleries 1979 auction catalog that contained this exact coin. I finally got to see this pattern issue live when two different examples were sold in a July 2008 Stack’s auction.

What makes this J-115 pattern so remarkable is that James Longacre, the chief engraver of the United States Mint at the time, hand cut each one. Because of this, each is unique. All four have different planchet alloys in as well. The piece I purchased is the only one which has not been metallurgically tested. At 23.4 grains, it is heavier than the other three and presumably contains more gold than the second heaviest, which has a recorded weight of 22.76 grains. It has been tested to show that it has an alloy of 90% gold, 3.5% silver, and 6.5% copper.

The reason for creating this issue was twofold: the U.S. Mint’s fears that the newly introduced Type One Gold Dollars, with a diameter of 13 millimeters, would be confused for half dimes, which had a diameter of 15.5 millimeters, and the ability to strike a coin this small (and thin) in a metal as soft as gold. The patterns were wider, at 16 millimeters, and this would also likely aid in better strikes for this brand-new design and denomination. This wider diameter for gold dollars was not adopted.

Why were these coins handmade and not struck with coin dies? One would have to assume that this was a rush job and that Longacre had to produce coins in a very short period. It would be interesting to go through U.S. Mint records from 1849 to see if there were problems with pre-production striking of gold dollars (as there were with the brand-new double eagles) and exactly who pointed out the unlikely possibility of this denomination being confused with half dimes.

In addition to the four known examples in gold, there are another four which are gold-plated silver (J-116). According to a noteworthy dealer who had handled J-115 and J-116 examples at one time and had done extensive research on these issues, four of five known “gold-plated silver” examples are, in fact, 14-karat gold and were almost certainly made on planchets which were likely cut from a pocket watch case(s). Two examples, including the one I purchased, are distinctly heavier, and one that was metallurgically analyzed shows a composition that is 90% gold and 10% silver and copper. When the present coin is eventually analyzed, it is likely to show a similar composition.

My conclusion is that there are only two examples of J-115 that are struck using the proper composition, and these are the most desirable pieces, as the others are made with severely debased gold.