50 Dollars, Pattern, United States, 1877
date: label: date made
content: 1877
name: label: designer
content: Barber, William
notes: label: Description
content: Patterns and experimental pieces form one of the most interesting groups of specimens associated with official coinage. It was customary for the Mint to provide samples of a proposed coin. More patterns were made in 1877 than in any other year. The Gold Rush in California prompted the merchants and bankers in San Francisco to lobby Congress for gold pieces of high denomination for quick counting purposes when a branch mint was established in their city in 1854. The design for the proposed large coin was similar to the $20 double eagle. Senator William Gwin of California introduced a bill for the adoption of this coin. His bill passed the Senate but failed to win approval in the House of Representatives. Although the coin was not approved, the proposal for such a large coin was feasible only after enough of the precious metal was available with the discovery of vast quantities in California. The depiction of Liberty on the obverse was a familiar symbol of national identity by 1877 for Americans.
place: label: place made
content: United States
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: Coins, Currency and Medals
label: Exhibition
content: Value of Money
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Glossary of Coins and Currency Terms
label: Related Web Publication
content: http://americanhistory.si.edu/coins/glossary.cfm
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: U.S. Department of the Treasury, United States Mint
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1986.0836.0060
label: accession number
content: 1986.0836
label: catalog number
content: 1986.0836.0060
objectType: label: Object Name
content: coin
label: Object Name
content: pattern coin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: gold (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: .3 cm x 5.11 cm; 1/8 in x 2 in