J-272 - J272 1860 Half Eagle Pattern - 1860 $5 PCGS PF64 BN CAC, R-6. This lustrous, copper proof pattern 1860 Half Eagle comes with the original tag from Stacks June 1983 auction showing the piece to have been lot # 842. The coin is lustrous light chocolate brown with hints of green and gold. The coin has been graded near-Gem Proof BN by PCGS, which is confirmed by its CAC sticker, meaning the piece is of premium quality and fully merits the assigned grade. There are no hairlines visible without the aid of magnification, and the surfaces are original and clean for the grade. The vertical lines, which are present on the obverse and more prominent on the reverse, are on the holder not the coin.

The coin designed by James B. Longacre shows a profile of a youthful Liberty facing right. She wears a Phrygian cap with three large five-pointed stars above the forehead. A ribbon at her neck in is inscribed LIBERTY. She is surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars with the date below. The reverse shows a perched, heraldic eagle facing left with a flowing ribbon in its beak. The ribbon is inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM. In its talons it holds arrows and an olive branch. It is surrounded by the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with the denomination FIVE DOLLARS below. The V in FIVE is an inverted A. It should be noted that some researchers believe that the reverse was designed by Anthony C. Paquet.

One of the problems of the late 1850s was that gold coins were sliced in half and their centers were replaced with a lesser-value metal. To combat this fraud, the new design had a broad, 22 millimeter diameter with a thinner planchet. Evidently the problem resolved itself since the design was never put into use. In addition to the copper strikes, two pieces were struck in gold.

James Barton Longacre was born in Pennsylvania in 1794. When he finished his apprenticeship in Philadelphia as a bookseller and a banknote engraver, he worked on his own as an engraver of book illustrations and bank notes. His works included one on the signers of the Declaration of Independence and another on stage personalities. In 1830, Longacre began a series of biographies of famous men in the military and the political arena. In 1834 the result of this series became the National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans that was published in four volumes. Longacre and those who worked with him became famous because of this work. In 1844 Longacre came to work at the Mint.

He was opposed by Franklin Peale, the Chief Coiner. Peale was probably responsible for some blundered dies that Longacre was criticized for making. Peal was involved in a private, illegal medal manufacturing business using Mint facilities. He was concerned that this new political appointee would interfere with his business, and he resisted Longacres appointment as Chief Engraver. Finally in 1854, Peale was fired by President Franklin Pearce. Longacre flourished in his position and was responsible for creating many new designs including the Indian Head cent, the two-cent piece, the Shield nickel, the Liberty Head gold dollar, the Indian Princess gold dollar, the three-dollar gold piece, the Liberty Head double eagle, and many pattern pieces. 

Assistant Engraver Anthony C. Paquet was born in 1814 in Hamburg, Germany. He emigrated in 1848. He began working at the Mint in 1857 and remained there as an employee until 1864. He did additional contract work after his regular employment. He died in 1882. Paquet is most famous for his double eagles of 1861 that were named for him. In his book The U.S. Mint and Coinage, Donald Taxay say of him, Paquet possessed a very modest talent, and his dies, with but one brief exception, were never adopted on the coinage. A peculiar ugliness in portraiture, stiffness in anatomy, and tall, thin lettering distinguish the work of this artist.

The coin has an L-6 Rarity rating, which means that 21 to 30 pieces are known. In its population report, PCGS shows 3 1860 $5.00 J-272s in PRBN 64 with 1 better. As of July 2012, CAC shows 1 in PRBN64 with 2 better.