Patterns (1799)

History and Overview

By 1799 the Philadelphia Mint had been in operation for the better part of the decade, routinely turning out coins from the half cent to the $10 gold piece. Numismatically, the year is best remembered in the regular series for the large copper cent, the rarest regular date of the 1793–1857 years.

The pattern listing for the year 1799 is a unique piece. Our knowledge of pattern coins of this era comes from a few copper strikings of silver and gold denominations, pieces intended as patterns and probably intended to be destroyed, but kept as souvenirs or otherwise preserved. No doubt at the time there were unadopted ideas of other pieces that would be interesting to contemplate now, but no record of them has been located.

Collecting Perspective

Just one 1799 pattern is known, a $10 piece from regular dies struck in copper. It has appeared at auction several times, never attracting much attention as it was deliberately damaged soon after it was made.