1831 Capped Head Left Quarter Eagle. Judd-49, Pollock-50. Rarity-8--Struck on a Dime Planchet--VF Details--Tooled (PCGS). 2.59 grams. This is one of the most intriguing coins that your cataloger (JLA) has ever had the privilege of researching and presenting for auction. It is one of only three examples of Judd-49 confirmed, a newcomer to the modern census for the attribution that is not listed on the <em>uspatterns.com</em> website. It is a mostly pewter-gray specimen with some deeper steely-charcoal highlights that find greatest concentration in the protected areas around and among the design elements. An area of variegated color is also noted for the left obverse field, at and near Libertys chin. Wear is moderate and points to actual use in circulation, probably as a dime (see below), but even so one will find much bold striking detail to appreciate. A tad glossy in texture, yet to no great detriment, the only significant blemishes are a pair of shallow scrapes at and near the lower reverse border after the letter D in the denomination that explain the PCGS qualifier.<p>The <em>uspatterns.com</em> website is clear on the status of this unusual type: "Although listed by Judd as a regular dies trial piece struck in silver, Taxay describes this as a mint error, struck on a dime planchet which your editor [Saul Teichman] believes is the more likely scenario." Only three specimens are known, the finest of which is the Brand-Opezzo-Farouk-Judd-Sloss specimen withdrawn from the 1979 ANA sale and not seen since. Another was found in a bag of silver in North Texas in 2008, was subsequently certified Good-6 by NGC, and realized $46,000 in Heritages September 2008 Long Beach Signature Auction. That coin has since been crossed to a PCGS Good-4 holder. The third specimen is the offered coin, off the market since the mid 1970s, but not to be confused with the first example discussed above.<p>The theory that Judd-49 is a Mint error as opposed to a pattern gains support from two facts. First, these pieces date to a time in the Mints history when the deliberate creation of rarities for sale to contemporary collectors was still nearly three decades in the future. In other words, there was likely no intent on the part of Mint employees to pair quarter eagle dies with silver planchets in 1831. Second, two of the three examples are well worn, pointing to commercial use. It is likely that a few dime planchets were accidentally struck by the 1831-dated quarter eagle die pairing, the resulting coins subsequently released into circulation where they were eagerly accepted and circulated (mostly likely) as dimes. It should be recalled in this context that in the United States of the 1830s, circulating coinage was not only scarce, but consisted of a hodgepodge of domestic Mint products and world coins of various nationalities, denominations and types. Few contemporary Americans, if any, would have questioned what today is readily identifiable as a most unusual design for a U.S. Mint dime.<p>It is, of course, unknown if any additional examples of this type await discovery. If so, the numbers are certainly extremely limited and unlikely to move the needle indicating rarity for Judd-49 to an appreciable extent. As our first offering for the type, and a newcomer to the modern numismatic market, we eagerly anticipate this coin crossing our auctioneers block, during which it will surely see spirited bidding. PCGS# 11175. From the Mocatta Collection.
