LOT Old Heritage Auctions  /  2007 (ANA) Signature Coin Auction #444  / 

2187

1874 $10 Bickford Ten Dollar, Judd-1374,

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:16,000.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1874 $10 Bickford Ten Dollar, Judd-1374,
<B>1874 $10 Bickford Ten Dollar, Judd-1374, Pollock-1519, Low R.6, PR65 Brown PCGS.</B></I> The obverse depicts a bust of Liberty facing left with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA above and the date below. Liberty wears a diadem inscribed with the word LIBERTY and ornamented with six stars. The weight 16.72 GRAMS, the standard of the metal 900 FINE, and the word UBIQUE are centered on the reverse. Around the periphery is the U.S. denomination DOLLARS 10 and the following international equivalents: STERLING (Pound) 2.1.1; MARKEN 41.99; KRONEN 37.31; GULDEN 20.73; and FRANCS 51.81. Struck in copper with a reeded edge. <BR> The background for Dana Bickford's proposal for an international coinage is contained in the February 1876 issue of "The Coin & Stamp Journal":<BR><BR> "Mr. Bickford, while traveling in Europe, experienced the difficulties and inconveniences that European travelers are subjected to, of having to provide money current in each country he visited, and at times ignorant of its value in our money. Having upon one occasion been particularly annoyed, he determined, if possible, to overcome the difficulty, and being a man of great inventive capacity, was not long arriving at his present plan, and designed a coin that shows on its face its value in our money and that of the principal commercial nations of the world."<BR><BR> While labeled as a Brown coin, there are noticeable remnants of original red luster around the obverse devices and over much of the reverse. Still, most of each side is covered with deep blue and brown patina. The fields are deeply reflective on the obverse, less so on the reverse. One of the finer examples known of this experimental pattern for international coinage.<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><b>Shipping:</b> Coins & Currency (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.heritageauctions.com/common/shipping.php">view shipping information</a>)
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