1046

Lot 1046: Undated Bickford Pattern Dollar

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money Start Price:180.00 USD Estimated At:300.00 - 400.00 USD
Lot 1046: Undated Bickford Pattern Dollar
<b>Pattern Coinage</b><hr><b>Undated (circa 1897) Bickford Pattern Dollar, About Uncirculated.</b>
A privately made token made of aluminum with a central plug of copper. Of interest to U.S. Pattern coin collectors because of the association with maker Dana Bickford and some international pattern coins in 1874. Bickford, like most tourists, encountered difficulties in exchanging currency as he traveled from country to country in Europe. He proposed a U.S. coin denominated in various international currencies, a proposal which appeared in Pattern coin form, but which failed to gain Congressional approval. The piece offered here takes the proposal even further by offering corresponding values in other currencies, but also by offering a compromise to bring together the warring Gold and Silver factions that arose during the 1896 Presidential campaign. The only other example we’ve ever sold was a PCI graded MS-60 that appeared in our June 2002 sale and sold for $402.50.