Patterns

A pattern coin is one produced in order to test a design but with no intention of allowing it to circulate among the greater public. In the United States, pattern coins were first produced in 1776 when minters began experimenting with designs for a new coinage system. A number of pattern coins were created in the period between the Declaration’s signing and the day the first coin was issued by the US Mint. Over the next 40 years, pattern coins were scarcely produced. In 1836, however, the US Mint in Philadelphia returned to producing pattern pieces. Patterns during this period not only served as trials of new designs but also as transitional pieces, when the mint decided to retire a style, and as fantasy pieces, for sale to collectors as a way to raise money. It is rare to encounter pattern coins minted in the modern era.

Patterns coins