J-394 1864 50C - 1864 Half Dollar Pattern PCGS PR64 CAC, R8. This exceedingly rare, transitional, near-Gem proof 1864 Half Dollar Pattern is tied for second finest at both PCGS and NGC. Made out of nickel, the piece shows lustrous highlights within the devices. The surfaces are free of hairlines that can be seen without the aid of magnification. Their light toning indicates complete originality. We see shades of tan, sliver, and coppery-gold. The strike is full, as expected for a proof coin. There are a few scuff marks on both sides, but these are on the holder not the coin. The CAC sticker indicates that the coin is of premium quality and fully deserves the assigned grade.

The J-394 pattern half dollar was also struck in silver, copper, and aluminum. The obverse shows the regular Liberty Seated die for 1864. It shows Liberty seated looking over her shoulder to the left. She balances the Union Shield inscribed LIBERTY with her right hand and holds a staff on which is placed a Phrygian cap in her left. There are seven stars to the left and six to the right interrupted by her head and the capped pole. The date is below. The reverse shows the heraldic eagle looking left. It is surrounded by the required inscription and the denomination written as HALF DOL. below. Dentils are around the periphery of both sides of the coin. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST has been added to a ribbon above the eagle. This reverse is the type that was introduced in 1866 for regular coinage.

Both before and during the Civil War almost a dozen Protestant denominations pressured Congress to add references to God to the Constitution and other government documents. Reverend Mark Richards Watkinson was the first to write to Treasury Secretary Salmon Chase to request that Gods name be added to our coinage. His suggestion for a motto was God, Liberty, Law. Chase ordered Mint Director James Pollock to prepare a suitable motto. Pollocks suggestions included Our Trust Is In God, Our God And Our Country, and God Our Trust. Then Chase decided on In God We Trust to be added to most of the nations coinage. This motto was a subtle reminder that the North considered itself on the side of God with regard to the issue of slavery. A new law was required to allow the motto to be added since previous acts of Congress specified the mottos and devices that were permitted on coins. The new motto was placed on all coins that were deemed large enough to accommodate it.

Christian Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis. In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle. 

The 1864 J-394 pattern half dollar has an R8 rarity rating. In its population report PCGS shows only the present coin in PR64. At CAC, as of February 2013, this is the only 1864 Half Dollar Pattern J-394 approved in all grades.