Unique 1878 Gold Pattern Quarter Eagle Sets $439,200 Auction Record
Only one genuine gold example of the 1878 Judd-1566 Pattern Quarter Eagle survives.
That fact alone places the coin among the great rarities of American pattern coinage. Yet rarity tells only part of its story. The Philadelphia Mint created this unusually wide and thin quarter eagle as a weapon against one of the most sophisticated counterfeiting schemes of the 19th century.
On June 16, 2026, Stack’s Bowers Galleries sold the unique coin for $439,200 during its June Showcase Auction Rarities Night. The price, which includes the buyer’s premium, set a new auction record for the pattern. It also made Judd-1566 the highest-priced lot in the nearly $13.2 million sale.
Moreover, the result produced an unusual grading comparison. CAC Grading had assigned the coin a Proof-66 Cameo grade. Four years earlier, the same coin brought $432,000 in a PCGS Proof-67 Cameo holder without CAC approval. Therefore, the pattern achieved a higher price in 2026 despite carrying a numerically lower grade.
A Quarter Eagle That Broke the Standard Dimensions
A regular 1878 Liberty Head Quarter Eagle measured approximately 18 millimeters across. By contrast, Mint workers produced Judd-1566 on a planchet measuring 20.5 millimeters.
The larger diameter required a thinner format. As a result, the coin looks broader and more medal-like than the compact quarter eagles that circulated during the period.
Catalogers attribute the design to United States Mint engraver George T. Morgan. That attribution gives the pattern added historical significance. During the same year, the Mint introduced Morgan’s famous silver dollar. However, Morgan also developed a wide range of experimental designs that never reached circulation.
Liberty faces left on the obverse. Morgan tied her hair in a bun and placed an incuse LIBERTY inscription on a band running back from her forehead. The motto E PLURIBUS UNUM surrounds the portrait, while the date 1878 appears below.
On the reverse, an eagle spreads its wings while holding an olive branch in its right talon and three arrows in its left. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA arcs above the eagle. The denomination 2 1/2 DOLLARS appears below.
The large central devices dominate both sides. Consequently, Morgan left relatively little open space around the portrait and eagle. The design carries the forceful, sculptural appearance that also characterizes much of his experimental work from the late 1870s.
CACG described the coin as a Proof-66 Cameo. Frosted design elements contrast sharply with deeply reflective fields. In addition, pale silver-olive iridescence rests over reddish-orange gold surfaces. Reddish-rose undertones appear under direct light.
Counterfeiters Used Real Gold Coins
The Judd-1566 story began long before Morgan prepared its dies.
Most counterfeiters created false coins from cheap metal. However, a more dangerous group began with genuine gold coins. These operators cut authentic $10 eagles through the edge. Next, they hollowed out much of the gold from the center while preserving the original faces.
They then inserted a platinum disc into the empty space.
During the mid-19th century, platinum cost much less than gold. Yet platinum carried enough density to help the altered coin retain its expected weight. The counterfeiter could then solder the two gold shells together, repair the edge, and restore the reeds.
The finished piece still displayed genuine Mint-made designs. It also retained the correct diameter and nearly the correct weight. Therefore, merchants and bankers often struggled to detect the deception.
In July 1860, New York Assay Office Assayer Dr. John Torrey described one such adulterated $10 eagle. Torrey reported that the counterfeit carried the correct size and weight. He also found the seams difficult to locate. According to Torrey, only a nitric-acid test reliably exposed the silver solder that held the altered coin together.
Dr. Barclay’s Answer: Make Gold Coins Thinner
Dr. J.T. Barclay proposed a direct response. Instead of searching for better ways to test gold coins, Barclay wanted the Mint to change their physical form.
His concept relied on simple geometry. A wider coin could contain the required amount of gold while using a thinner planchet. Counterfeiters would then have less space to hollow out the center. Moreover, cutting and rebuilding a thin coin would make the seams harder to conceal.
The Mint tested Barclay’s idea in 1860 with the Judd-271 pattern half eagle. Mint workers spread the half eagle’s normal gold content across a planchet about the diameter of a $10 eagle. The resulting coin measured approximately 27 millimeters and only about one millimeter thick.
However, the experiment created production problems. Thin gold planchets offered less metal for the dies to move into deep design recesses. They also required different handling than standard coins.
The Mint abandoned the concept after producing only a few experimental pieces. Nevertheless, the idea remained available for future consideration.
The Mint Revived the Experiment in 1878
Eighteen years later, Mint officials returned to the thin-planchet concept.
The 1878 pattern program included a large-diameter quarter eagle and several wide half eagle designs. At the same time, William Barber and George Morgan produced competing designs for silver dollars and other gold denominations. The Mint therefore treated 1878 as a major year for experimentation.
Judd-1566 represented the quarter eagle portion of the anti-counterfeiting trial. Yet the Mint again declined to adopt the format.
Catalogers generally connect that decision to the difficulties involved in producing thin gold coins. The Mint had already encountered similar striking problems with the broad, thin Type II Gold Dollar of 1854 through 1856. In addition, thinner coins offered less resistance to bending and other damage during circulation.
Ultimately, the standard quarter eagle continued unchanged. The broader pattern remained an experiment rather than a preview of a new coinage series.
Older References Counted Two Coins
For many years, numismatic references reported two Judd-1566 gold examples.
Later researchers studied the auction appearances and ownership records. That work showed that the supposedly separate examples shared the same provenance. In effect, earlier catalogers had counted the same coin twice.
Researchers can also identify the unique gold striking through tiny surface markers. One diagnostic appears in the reverse field near the C in AMERICA. Another small lint mark or strike-through appears between the eagle’s wing and the lettering.
These details confirm that every documented major appearance traces back to one coin.
The Mint also produced the same design in copper. Collectors know those pieces as Judd-1567. Researchers estimate that about a dozen survive. Some owners later gilded copper examples to imitate the appearance of the unique gold coin. However, the underlying copper remains detectable, and those pieces carry a separate Judd number.
Therefore, Judd-1566 does not merely rank as the finest known gold example. It represents the only confirmed gold example.
A Provenance Filled With Famous Names
The coin’s ownership history reads like a directory of major 20th-century collectors.
Baltimore numismatist Waldo C. Newcomer became the first documented owner. The coin later entered the collection of “Colonel” Edward H.R. Green, one of the most prolific buyers of great American rarities.
On June 23, 1943, the coin passed through dealer Burdette G. Johnson to collector F.C.C. Boyd. It later joined the holdings of King Farouk of Egypt.
Sotheby’s included the pattern as lot 329 in the February 1954 Palace Collections of Egypt sale.
Dealer Abe Kosoff subsequently handled the coin and placed it with Dr. J. Hewitt Judd, whose name now identifies the standard catalog numbers for United States pattern coins.
The pattern then entered the collection of Dr. John E. Wilkison in 1962. Wilkison assembled one of the most important groups of United States gold patterns ever formed.
Paramount International Coin Corporation acquired his collection in 1973.
Later owners and intermediaries included A-Mark, several Superior auction consignors, an unnamed Southern collection, and Texas collector Bob R. Simpson. Heritage Auctions presented the coin from the Simpson Collection in April 2021.
Three Auctions Chart the Coin’s Recent Rise
The Judd-1566 remained away from public auction for nearly three decades before Heritage offered it in April 2021.
At that sale, the PCGS Proof-67 Cameo pattern realized $384,000. Heritage called it the only known example and noted that the coin had not appeared publicly since 1993.
Stack’s Bowers sold it again in August 2022. Still certified as PCGS Proof-67 Cameo, the coin brought $432,000.
Then, in June 2026, the pattern returned in a CACG Proof-66 Cameo holder. The $439,200 result narrowly surpassed the 2022 price and established a new auction record.
CAC Grading highlighted the transaction because the coin sold for about 2% more than it had achieved in the higher-numbered PCGS holder. CAC also argued that the broader rare-gold-pattern market had not advanced enough since 2022 to explain the difference by itself.
However, collectors should approach that comparison with care. One unique coin cannot create a reliable grading-premium formula. No second Judd-1566 exists for a controlled comparison.
Instead, the result shows how the market treats singular objects. Grade matters. Certification matters as well. Yet absolute rarity, eye appeal, provenance, and historical importance can outweigh a one-point difference on the label.
More Than a Unique Gold Pattern
Judd-1566 survives because the Mint failed.
Officials never adopted its dimensions. The broad planchet never entered circulation. Meanwhile, improved detection methods and the limited supply of platinum prevented hollow gold coins from becoming the national crisis that Treasury officials once feared.
Still, the experiment captured a real problem. Counterfeiters had found a way to hide cheap metal inside genuine United States gold coins. The Mint responded by reconsidering the basic shape of its coinage.
That response produced one gold quarter eagle.
Today, the unique 1878 Judd-1566 Pattern Quarter Eagle connects three separate stories. It reflects George T. Morgan’s work during a landmark year. It records the Mint’s search for a defense against highly skilled counterfeiters. Finally, its remarkable provenance links Newcomer, Green, Farouk, Judd, Wilkison, and Simpson.
The $439,200 auction result confirms its financial importance. However, the greater value lies in what the coin represents: the sole gold survivor of a forgotten United States Mint campaign against the platinum-filled counterfeit.
Coin at a Glance
- Date: 1878
- Denomination: Pattern Quarter Eagle
- Judd Number: Judd-1566
- Pollock Number: Pollock-1756
- Composition: Gold
- Edge: Reeded
- Diameter: 20.5 millimeters
- Grade: Proof-66 Cameo CACG
- Rarity: Unique confirmed gold striking
- Auction: Stack’s Bowers June 2026 Showcase Auction
- Sale Date: June 16, 2026
- Price Realized: $439,200, including buyer’s premium
- PCGS Number: 537320
- NGC ID: 2AFJ
