Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Dollar '1880 Goloid Metric Dollar' Pattern, Copper
| Issuer | United States Mint |
|---|---|
| Year | 1880 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Round |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field features a tabular arrangement of the goloid alloy composition: 15.3 G. (gold), 236.7 S. (silver), and 28 C. (copper), with 14 GRAMS below, all enclosed within a ring of 38 stars. The inscription GOLOID METRIC DOLLAR. arcs above the central data, with the Latin motto DEO EST GLORIA. (Glory be to God) below it. The outer legend reads UNITED STATES OF AMERICA around the upper rim, with the denomination 100 CENTS at the lower rim. The design reflects the utilitarian, data-driven aesthetic characteristic of goloid metric pattern coinage. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
The Goloid Metric dollar was the brainchild of Dr. Wheeler W. Hubbell, who patented a gold-silver-copper alloy in 1878 and spent years lobbying Congress to adopt it as the basis for American coinage. His pitch was partly monetary and partly mathematical — the alloy's composition was calibrated so that a given weight of the metal contained a precise, legally definable quantity of fine silver and gold simultaneously. Congress was sufficiently intrigued to authorize pattern strikes across multiple years, but never moved to production.
This copper striking of Judd-1652 is a die trial rather than a serious monetary proposal — copper blanks were routinely used to test hub and die combinations before committing to precious metal.