| Description: |
Encapsulated but not graded by NGC. 88.6 grains. 39.4 mm x 39.2 mm. A fascinating artifact
of the die creation process. Lustrous silver gray, essentially immaculate on the right
side but showing some light surface abrasions on the left side, apparently where this
soft-metal impression was lifted from the die face. Nearly half of the external flashing
is present, very unusual for a splasher of any period or description, showing the parallel
circular grooves from the machined part of the die outside the engraved die face. The word
STANDARD, which appears above the open top of the wreath, has been neatly effaced from
this splasher though vestiges of it survive—we can only imagine the engraver wanted to
see what the design would look like without that word there.
This die is not known to
have struck any patterns that exist today. The date numerals are substantially larger than
those used on the reverse of Judd-939 through 962, seemingly from the same punches (or at
least the same size punches) as the larger date seen outside the wreath on Judd-963. This
splasher, a disposable item created in soft metal to give an idea what the product of a
die would look like, is essentially a pattern of a pattern - a trial for a pattern piece
that is not known to exist. A bit of white metal, which melts at a very low temperature,
was poured onto a piece of paper and the die was squeezed down upon the dollop of
semi-molten metal. Some of the paper backing is still present and appears to be some sort
of government publication, as portions of the words "Senate,"
"consideration," and "Mssrs" can be made out. Splashers are very
fragile items are were not meant to last the test of time, a fact which explains their
outright rarity today.
Two reverse splashers for 1870 pattern coins are known, both from
reverses for Standard half dollars, neither of which was known to Judd. One is described
in Appendix A of the new 8th edition of Judd as J-A1870-2, a reverse impression of
Judd-963 to 992 in identical paper-backed white metal that has been broken into two
pieces. It last sold in Stack's March 1993 sale as Lot 2551 and apparently was sold by B.
Max Mehl (apparently unbroken) before that. It represents an impression of a die known to
have been used in other forms. The other piece, described as J-A1870-1 and as
Pollock-3386, is probably the present piece, described in Pollock as coming from Kosoff's
1958 ANA Sale (which was not correct) and Stephen Nagy before that. The new Judd book
cites the piece as "Ex. Stephen K. Nagy—unconfirmed." Nagy was a Philadelphia
coin dealer with extremely close ties to the Mint circa 1900.
This rare splasher
deserves a new listing in future editions of Judd, since it represents a previously
unrecorded die that apparently never struck a single coin. Its desirability rests upon its
rarity—the only other splasher from 1870 is broken in two pieces—and the fact that a
splasher is a tangible connection to the engraver and the creative process he invests into
creating a die and its eventual struck products. We are excited to be the first to
describe and offer this exciting new discovery.
|
