1 Cent '1896' Pattern, aluminium

J-1769 is one of several experimental aluminum cent patterns produced in the 1890s as Congress and the Mint debated replacing the copper small cent with a lighter, cheaper alloy. Aluminum was briefly fashionable as a coinage metal during this period — France, for instance, had already explored it seriously. The lobbying effort by aluminum producers, particularly the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, was aggressive enough that Congress eventually barred mint officials from distributing pattern coins to industry representatives, a rule formalized after the scandal surrounding the 1896 experiments.