1877 $50 J-1548 (Proof)

David Akers (1975/88): Description: Obverse. Similar to J-1546 except that the head is considerably smaller, the hair is more finely detailed, LIBERTY is smaller, and below LIBERTY on the coronet are four stars. Reverse. Identical to J-1546.

Comments: The idea of a $50 gold piece was revived in 1877 by Director Linderman, a staunch gold standard advocate. (At the time, there was a great battle in progress between the silver interests and the gold interests and Linderman undoubtedly wanted to increase the use of gold in coins). He instructed Superintendent James Pollock to have dies made and Pollock replied to him in a letter dated May 2, 1877 that "the Engraver (William Barber) will proceed to make a pair of dies for an experimental fifty-dollar gold coin; the devices to be identical with those on the obverse and reverse of the present double eagle." (Taxay, U.S. Mint and Coinage, p. 266.) With his letter, Pollock also included the opinions of the Assayer, William DuBois, and the engraver, William Barber, on the impracticability of the proposed coin. Both men felt that the coin would be highly susceptible to "platinum-filling." In his letter to Pollock, DuBois stated that "If a coin of fifty dollars is to be legalized, we must take the risk of fraudulent practices, for which it would offer a fine field day." Despite these objections, Linderman still insisted upon having dies made, and trial pieces were struck in both copper and gold in late 1877. However, the proposed coin did not advance beyond this stage.

The Government's claim to both the pattern half unions was based on the assertion that they had been taken illegally from the Mint. A 1909 Numismatist article stated that "the piece in the mint was originally represented by a gold specimen, but some ten or more years ago, the one in charge of the cabinet at the time, considered $50 too much to be confined in one specimen when he could have the type duplicated in copper. The mint specimen is said to have been sold to the bullion department and melted up and the proceeds of it used in the purchase of a lot of very ordinary Spanish and Mexican dollars." Apparently, Idler, who for many years had received special favors from the Mint, manage to get yet another favor and obtained both pieces before they were melted. (Actually, Idler probably obtained both pieces in 1877 or shortly thereafter rather than just "some ten or more years" prior to 1909 since even by 1866, Davis indicated that the gold specimens had been melted.)

The $10,000 paid by Woodin for each piece was a colossal figure for the time and the headline in the July, 1909 Numismatist article by Edgar Adams read "The World's Highest-Priced Coins. The Two Unique U.S. Pattern Quintuple Eagles Sold For $10,000 Each - Specialists Consider These Cheap At This Price - $25 and $100 Gold Coins Proposed But Never Issued." The publicity and notoriety received from the sale of these two patterns no doubt caused the Government to institute the pressure on Woodin that eventually led to their return to the U.S. Mint Collection in late 1909.