J-1248 1872
$10 Pattern NGC PF64 BN. R-8! To paraphrase Hewitt
Judd, a copper pattern is exceedingly difficult to
obtain in a combination of high grade and excellent
eye appeal. The J-1248 copper eagle has an R8 rarity
rating. Only 3 are known. The PCGS specimen is a PF62.
NGCs population report shows a proof 67 Brown Cameo
and the present piece, which is unique at proof 64
Brown.
Please contact me by email
or telephone 1-941-291-2156
to reserve this great coin.
This lustrous, eye appealing, copper
1872 Proof Pattern Eagle is the second finest known
at NGC and the finest known at PCGS. As expected for
a proof coin, the piece is boldly struck with full details
on the centers of the stars, Liberty’s hair, the
eagle’s neck, and the area to the lower left of
the shield. The light chocolate-brown surfaces have
highlights of blue, pink, and orange. The motifs are
outlined in blue, especially so on the reverse. The
surfaces are original and clean with no hairlines visible
without magnification. The old type NGC holder has some
vertical striations showing, but these are on the holder
not the coin.
The 1872 copper proof eagle was also
struck in aluminum. It shows Liberty facing left in
profile wearing a LIBERTY inscribed coronet with her
hair tied in the back in beads. Two long curls hang
down her neck, one in the back and the other on the
side. She is surrounded with thirteen six-pointed
stars. The date is below the truncation, which shows
no drapery. The motif is taken from a Benjamin West
painting of Venus. It was also used with modifications
for the Large Cents of 1839. The reverse shows a heraldic
eagle with outstretched wing looking to the left.
On its chest is the Union shield. In its talons it
holds the olive branch and arrows.
The error in the previous issue, Scot’s
eagle held the arrows and the olive branches in the
wrong talons, is corrected. Except for being interrupted
by the tips of the eagle’s wings UNITED STATES
OF AMERICA surrounds the reverse, separated from the
denomination TEN D. by dots. Dentils are near the edge
on both sides of the coin, and the edge is reeded. The
Type 2 Liberty Head eagle was created when the motto
IN GOD WE TRUST was added to a banner designed by James
B. Longacre above the eagle in 1866. The change was
made in response to pressure organized by the Reverend
M.R. Watkinson. The motto remained until 1907, when
President Theodore Roosevelt told Augustus Saint-Gaudens
to omit it on the newly designed eagle.
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 God’s 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. Pollock’s
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 nation’s
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.
In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for
the Mint as an assistant to William Kneass. After Kneass
suffered a debilitating 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.
