Can Collecting Pattern Coins Lead To Legal Trouble?

The seizure of a 1933 Saint-Gaudens $20 double-eagle gold coin grabbed plenty of headlines a few years ago, while at the same time many other coins of questionable origin made headlines for hitting record prices with collectors.

It sounds like a double standard. On one hand, we have the Secret Service taking possession of coins allegedly never officially released from the Mint, while on the other hand there are some classic rarities which, according to research, are also in the same category.

Can you imagine the Secret Service seizing an 1804 silver dollar or a 1913 Liberty Head nickel? These are not official releases. (Some 1804 dollars were presentation pieces.) Many 19th-century patterns are in the numismatic market and yet, despite being official property of the Mint, there has never been any effort to recover them.

In 1974, bronze-clad steel composition Lincoln cents were struck as patterns or test strikes. Not all of them can be accounted for. They are subject to seizure if they appear in collector markets.

Now one of the third party grading services has recently slabbed a previously unknown 1759-dated pattern dime struck about 1965 by the Mint. The pattern was part of a series of test strikes when a replacement for silver alloy was being sought. Martha Washington appears on the obverse and Mount Vernon on the reverse.

Martha Washington test strikes were made in dime, quarter and half dollar denominations in 1965, which were dated 1759. Surviving specimens were embedded in a block of Lucite currently at the Smithsonian Institution. No additional specimens were known to survive, and none were ever officially released by the Mint.

Regardless, here is a specimen as big as life and certified as genuine by a third-party authentication and grading service. It is an exciting pattern or trial strike, despite beinga 20th-century product. There are very few 20th-century US coin patterns in the coin market.

The trial strike is now getting lots of numismatic press, but the danger is that it could backfire. What if the Secret Service decides to seize it? Should the Secret Service make such a move, all collectors holding trial strikes and patterns may begin to look over their shoulders. Could this trigger a wave of seizures of some of our favorite coins simply because they were never officially released from the Mint?

There have been some strange things coming out of the Mint over its 200-year history. Mint workers on the night shift during the 19th century were known to use Mint dies and equipment to help themselves to making restrikes.

Some previously-unknown patterns and Proofs first hit the hobby markets following the death of some Mint engravers, who apparently simply took some of these pieces home with them as souvenirs.

Perhaps the Royal Canadian Mint has seen the worst of this. There was a circulation coin muled with commemorative gold coin. The problem? All circulation coins are struck at the Mint in Winnepeg. All gold coins are struck at the Mint in Ottawa, several thousands of miles away. Apparently somebody smuggled the coin out of one Mint and into the other to complete the process. Sorry, this coin is now in the hands of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Does the Secret Service take enough interest to care that this pattern is in private hands when perhaps it shouldn’t be? The Secret Service did not seize some unofficially-released gas ration coupons when they recently appeared at auction. Who knows? Should they even care?

Trial strikes and patterns of the 20th century are undoubtedly as prolific as those in collector hands of the 19th century. Unfortunately, the 20th century patterns never made it into collector hands.

Richard Giedroyc is a numismatic writer, researcher, auction cataloger and coin dealer. He has been in the hobby and business most of his life, now having more than three decades experience in this fascinating hobby field. During this time Giedroyc has been the owner of Paris Bergman Galleries, owner of Classical Coin Newsletter, international editor of Coin World and owner of Giedroyc-Anderson Interesting World Coins. He is currently a numismatic consultant. He has written more than 2,000 byline numismatic stories and contributed to several coin catalogs.

Mt. Vernon is on reverse of pattern coin