1866 5C Five Cents/Three Dollars, Judd-531A, Pollock-596, Unique, PR62 PCGS....

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1866 Five Cents/Three Dollar Mule
Unique Judd-531A, Struck in Nickel, PR62

1866 5C Five Cents/Three Dollars, Judd-531A, Pollock-596, Unique, PR62 PCGS. Ex: Simpson. One side features the regular Shield nickel obverse for the year 1866. The other shows a three dollar gold obverse. Struck in nickel with a plain edge. This mule, which combines the dies of two different denominations, is surely a fantasy piece. The ninth edition of the Judd reference speculates that it was made "for the numismatic market, probably outside the Mint."

The unique nature of this bizarre product manufactured from legitimate U.S. Mint dies speaks broadly to the incredible quality and importance of the Bob R. Simpson Collection, which is undoubtedly the all-time greatest set of patterns ever put together. We cannot count how many of these irreplaceable proofs Mr. Simpson has been able to obtain over the past few decades. Any collector would be delighted to include any one of these important rarities among their holdings, certainly one as interesting as Judd-531A. Its century-old pedigree and place in Mr. Simpson's landmark collection clearly heighten its appeal.

The nickel composition has dulled somewhat over time and today the piece has an even gray color. Remarkably well-struck considering the composition with softness limited to the horizontal lines on the shield of the five cent side.
Ex: John Hurd Comstock Collection (Lyman H. Low, 6/1903), lot 563; William Hesslein; McCabe Collection (Chapman Brothers, 6/1905), lot 116; purchased by "Hy" from the McCabe Collection for $3; unknown intermediaries; Bowers and Ruddy Rare Coin Review, Spring 1975; 2007 Charlotte Money Show (Heritage, 3/2007), lot 1578; Collection of Samuel J. Berngard & Treasure Coins of the S.S. New York (Stack's, 7/2008), lot 4193; ANA Signature (Heritage, 8/2010), lot 3713.
Collecting Patterns – A Brief History and Commentary

Coin Index Numbers: (PCGS# 60729, Greysheet# 12969)

View all of [Important Selections from The Bob R. Simpson Collection, Part III ]

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