Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 117 19-20 May 2021
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1870 Proof Pattern Aluminum Dime. . Dies by William Barber, after James B. Longacre. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, head of Liberty right, wearing Phrygian cap decorated with stars; below, ribbon inscribed IN GOD WE TRUST / STANDARD SILVER, 10/ CENTS within laurel wreath; 1870 below. Edge: plain. Judd 860; Pollock 941. In NGC encapsulation 5938151-003, graded PF 64.
From the Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection.
By the second half of the 19th century, mints and governments around the world were finally beginning to understand how to maintain a fractional coinage in sufficient supply, a problem that had plagued the marketplace since the Roman Empire. The key was found to be the subsidized production of a fiduciary fractional coinage. Rather than individuals approaching the mint with bullion to be coined, the government itself would coin these smaller denominations on their own account, with a precious metal content sufficiently below the coins' face value to keep it in circulation. With an eye to this, in 1869 and 1870 the mint produced a number of patterns in what was then called "standard silver," a full-bodied silver coinage of reduced weight.
From the Dr. Jay M. Galst Collection.
By the second half of the 19th century, mints and governments around the world were finally beginning to understand how to maintain a fractional coinage in sufficient supply, a problem that had plagued the marketplace since the Roman Empire. The key was found to be the subsidized production of a fiduciary fractional coinage. Rather than individuals approaching the mint with bullion to be coined, the government itself would coin these smaller denominations on their own account, with a precious metal content sufficiently below the coins' face value to keep it in circulation. With an eye to this, in 1869 and 1870 the mint produced a number of patterns in what was then called "standard silver," a full-bodied silver coinage of reduced weight.