1871 Pattern Dollar. Judd-1140, Pollock-1282. Rarity-8. Silver. Plain Edge. Proof-65 (PCGS). CAC. Gold Shield Holder.<strong>Obv:</strong> Liberty is seated left with 13 stars around the border and the date 1871 below. She is wearing a Native American headdress, her right hand supports a liberty pole, and her left hand rests atop a globe inscribed LIBERTY. Two flags are behind the portrait, one of which displays 22 stars. The arrangement of the stars around the border, with stars 1 and 13 more distant from the base of the central design, is very similar to that seen on the posthumous 1870 pattern dollars of the Longacre Indian Princess type. Longacre died on January 1, 1869, but his legacy lived on. Unlike the 1870 issues, however, Judd-1140 does not include the designers name at the lower right corner of the central design. <strong>Rev:</strong> A wreath of cotton and corn encircles the denomination 1 DOLLAR with the word STANDARD inscribed along the upper border.<p><p>It is not often in numismatics that one has the chance to purchase a beautiful Gem that is by far the finest of just three known of the variety. Here is such an opportunity and a simply outstanding piece. Both sides are exceptionally vibrant with lovely iridescent toning of olive-gray and tannish-silver. Vivid undertones of gold, blue and pinkish-apricot are seen as is modest field to device contrast. The preservation easily justifies the Gem rating from PCGS. <p><p>Judd-1140 is at once a prime rarity among pattern dollars and one of the most enigmatic coins in this highly specialized series. For many years, pattern specialists believed that only one example of Judd-1140 was known to exist. The excellent 1994 book <em>United States Patterns and Related Issues </em>by Andrew W. Pollock III records only a single auction appearance of this type (for the present example, in fact), as does the indispensable reference <em>United States Pattern Coins,</em> 10th edition, by Dr. J. Hewitt Judd, edited by Q. David Bowers, 2009 (also for the present coin).While the extreme rarity of this type has long been recognized, the existence of a second example in numismatic hands remained unknown until our offering of this coin in August 2014, and for a very simple reason. This coin had been off the market for more than 40 years prior to that, having last appeared at auction in Kagins Sale of the 70s. Since that event, conducted in November 1973, only one other example of Judd-1140 had been offered for sale -- the Farouk specimen that reappeared in Spink Smythes May 2011 sale of the Magnolia Collection. The Farouk-Magnolia specimen current resides in a PCGS Proof-62+ holder. This coin is also finer than a third specimen, prior provenance unknown, that appeared at auction in January 2017.<p><p>The complete pedigrees for the three known examples of Judd-1140 are as follows:<p><p><strong>1 - PCGS Proof-65. </strong>Ex Kagins Sale of the 70s, November 1973, lot 806, off the market for 40 years thereafter; our Chicago ANA Sale of August 2014, lot 13289; Heritages Denver ANA Signature Auction of August 2017, lot 4254. <em><strong>The present example.</strong></em><p><p><strong>2 - NGC Proof-63. </strong>Ex Kentucky Collection; Great Collections sale of January 2017. As of this writing this coin does not appear in the NGC Census.<p><p><strong>3 - PCGS Proof-62+.</strong> Ex King Farouk of Egypt; Sothebys sale of the Palace Collections of Egypt, 1954; Spink Smythes sale of the Magnolia Collection, May 2011, lot 18, where it realized $54,625. This coin was certified Proof-61 by PCGS at the time of the Magnolia Collection sale, although the Proof-62+ now listed in the PCGS Population Report is presumed to record an upgrade of this coin. The Spink Smythe catalogers contributed to the belief that only one example of Judd-1140 was extant with the following statement in their description: "While one specimen is traced to an 11/73 Kagins sale, it is quite likely that example and the present are the same." We now know that this statement is false and that the PCGS Proof-65 and Proof-62+ specimens are different coins.<p><p>The opportunity to acquire the finest known example of the beautifully designed and exceedingly rare 1871 Judd-1140 Indian Princess pattern dollar is likely to be a once in a lifetime opportunity for most specialists. This is a highlight of the Stacks Bowers Galleries August 2018 ANA Sale, and one of our most important pattern offerings in recent years. This pattern is sure to spark spirited bidder competition among advanced collectors.<p>From Kagins Sale of the 70s, November 1973, lot 806, off the market for 40 years thereafter; our Chicago ANA Sale of August 2014, lot 13289; Heritages Denver ANA Signature Auction of August 2017, lot 4254.
