1874 Pattern Twenty Cents. Judd-1356, Pollock-1500. Rarity-7+. Aluminum. Plain Edge. Proof-65 (PCGS). OGH--First Generation.Obv: The popular design by J.A. Bailly. Liberty is seated left with 13 stars around the border and the date 1874 below. Liberty supports a liberty pole with her right hand, her left hand resting upon a globe inscribed LIBERTY. Two bales of cotton and a tobacco plant are at Libertys feet, and a sheaf of wheat is behind her. Rev: Similar to the design that the Mint adopted for regular issue twenty-cent piece production in 1875, although with a couple of differences. The second arrow head points well above the first letter T in TWENTY and all three leaves at the end of the olive branch point to the eagles left wing tip. This is a beautiful Gem, both sides with bright silver white surfaces. A boldly cameoed finish goes unmentioned on the old style PCGS insert, the design elements sharply struck, frosty and set against a backdrop of mirrored reflectivity in the fields. Expectably free of detracting marks for the assigned grade, a few areas of minor oxidation at 6 and 8 oclock on the obverse border, 12 oclock on the reverse border, are noted solely for provenance considerations.Aluminum is the second rarest metallic composition of this pattern design type, examples more elusive than their silver (Judd-1354) and copper (Judd-1355) counterparts. The nickel striking (Judd-1356A) remains unique. The website uspatterns.com provides a census of seven coins for Judd-1356 in aluminum, including the J.C. Mitchelson specimen permanently impounded in the collection of the Connecticut State Library. The present example is included in the uspatterns.com census, its offering in this sale a fleeting bidding opportunity for both pattern collectors and advanced twenty-cent piece enthusiasts.From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection. Earlier from our (Bowers and Merenas) Estates of Philip M. Mann, Jr. and Glenn B. Smedley sale, September 1988, lot 592.
