1876 $1 J-1463, BN PR(PCGS#61784)

Spring 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3177

Grade

PR65BN

Price

26,400

Lot Description

<strong>Obv:</strong> William Barber's celebrated Sailor Hair motif with a Liberty head facing left, the motto IN GOD WE TRUST above, the date 1876 below, and 13 stars arranged around the border seven left, six right. Liberty is wearing a plain diadem inscribed LIBERTY. <strong>Rev:</strong> The denomination ONE DOLLAR is partially enclosed by a laurel wreath with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA inscribed along the upper border, the Lattin motto E PLURUBUS UNUM along the lower border. Beautiful mahogany-brown patina blankets both sides of this sharply struck and impressively smooth-looking Gem.<p>The so-called Sailor Head (which really has nothing to do with a sailor, any more than the portrait on the 1915-S Panama-Pacific commemorative gold dollar has to do with a baseball player, to give an analogy) is certainly one of the most interesting designs in the U.S. Mint's pattern and related series. The same general motif was used on patterns for twenty-cent pieces. The <em>uspatterns.com</em> website traces only seven examples of Judd-1463 and, despite its rarity, this is the only attribution that is readily obtainable to represent this die pairing. There are only two examples known for Judd-1462 in silver, and the Judd-1463a in copper with a plain edge is unique. The present example of Judd-1463 is identifiable for provenance purposes by a tiny, ancient corrosion pit at the denticles outside the letter N in UNITED on the reverse.