1875 Pattern Liberty by the Seashore Twenty Cents. Judd-1403, Pollock-1546. Rarity-6+. Silver. Plain Edge. Proof-66 (PCGS). CAC. Obv: Liberty is seated by the seashore, facing left, an olive branch in her right hand, her left hand resting on the globe inscribed LIBERTY in raised letters. Two flags and a wheat sheaf are behind the portrait, a small steamship on the water in the distance with sails and smoke going in opposite directions. Thirteen stars encircle the border and the date 1875 is below. Rev: An olive wreath surrounds the denomination 20 CENTS with the denomination UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the border. This is a beautiful specimen with rich multicolored toning of cobalt blue, salmon pink, olive-charcoal and pewter gray shades on both sides. The shimmering reflectivity of the fields forms a splendid backdrop to fully impressed, frosty textured design elements. Expertly preserved and nearly in the Superb Gem category, there is a tiny carbon fleck on the globe below the letters LI in LIBERTY. The <em>uspatterns.com</em> website refers to this issue as: "The popular Liberty at the Seashore design. This obverse was used combined with two other 20-cent reverses and a modified version was also used on some trade dollar patterns of this year." This is the single finest specimen known to PCGS, and it would serve with distinction in a specialized pattern set or an advanced collection of twenty-cent pieces. From our (Stacks) sale of the Robert W. Barker Collection, October 1986, lot 61; Heritages sale of the Lemus Collection, Queller Family Collection Part Two, January 2009 FUN Auction, lot 1848.
