J-386 (J386) 1864 25C (1864 Quarter Pattern) PCGS PF65 CAC. R-7-. This rare, gem, proof 1864 Pattern Quarter has highlights of lovely cobalt and lavender toning on both sides. The devices are lighter than the background which gets darker closer to the rim. As expected for a gem proof coin, the surfaces are in excellent condition and the strike is full and sharp. The gem grade is confirmed by the CAC sticker, which also indicates that the coin is of premium quality for the grade. Subdued mint luster is seen within the devices on both sides.

Pattern coins were sometimes fantasy pieces and sometimes precursors of things to come. The latter is the case for the J-386 because it depicts the motto IN GOD WE TRUST that was adopted in 1866.

Christian Gobrecht designed the Liberty Seated quarter. The motto was added in response to public pressure to have Gods name on our nations coinage. (Similar feelings exist today. When the edge lettering that contained the motto on the Washington dollars of 2007 was missing, much was made of the Mint producing a Godless dollar. Instead of merely correcting the error, the coin was redesigned to allow the motto on the reverse.) Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase ordered the Mint Director, James Pollock, to create a motto that would have suitable wording. The Reverend Mark Richards Watkinson of Ridleyville, Pennsylvania was the first to make the appeal to Chase.

The Liberty Seated quarter design shows a full figure of Liberty sitting on a rock as she looks over her right shoulder. Her right hand balances the Union shield while she holds a staff with a Phrygian cap in the left. She is surrounded by thirteen six-pointed stars, interrupted by her head and the cap. The date is below. The reverse shows a heraldic eagle with its wings pointing down. It holds three arrows in its left talon and an olive branch in the right. The required inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is around the top and the denomination, QUAR. DOL. is below. The motto is on a ribbon above the eagle and below the inscription. There are dentils on both sides of the coin, and the edge is reeded.

In general pattern coins are rare because so few of them were made. The J-386 has an R7 rating, meaning that 7-12 pieces are known. In its population report, PCGS has certified 1 piece in PF65, the present coin, with 1 better. At CAC 2 have been stickered, one in PF64, and the present coin in PF65. Here is an opportunity to acquire a truly rare coin that has historic significance.