1858 Pattern Gold Dollar. Judd-225, Pollock-269. Rarity-8. Gilt Copper. Reeded Edge. Proof. AU-50 Details--Polished (ANACS).Dies by Anthony Paquet after the circulating Longacre Type III gold dollar, but with the tall letters that are so distinctive of Paquets work. Deep yellow gold in appearance with olive highlights. A loupe reveals the symptoms of a cleaned coin but only under low magnification. The uspatterns.com website has the following to say: The famous 1858 Paquet design. This is similar to Longacres regular Type III design but has larger letters used on the devices. It is unique in gold and was part of a complete 1858 proof set originally owned by J. Colvin Randall and eventually finding its way into the American Numismatic Society collection with the rest of the Brock and J.P. Morgan Proof sets. It was also struck in copper J225/P269 with about 4 or 5 known and with at least one gilt. The Rarity-8 listing in Pollock and Judd seems a bit too high. No doubt a bit too high for the rarity rating refers to the copper and gilt pieces and not the unique gold striking. Judd-225, however, is still a Rarity-7+ variety at the very least, and bidding should be approached with this in mind.
