20 Cents '1875' Pattern, silver

The twenty-cent piece was authorized in March 1875 largely at the insistence of Nevada Senator John P. Jones, who argued — correctly, for the Pacific states — that the lack of small change was a genuine commercial problem where Spanish two-reale pieces had long filled the gap. The denomination was dead within three years, killed by public confusion with the quarter.

Judd-1392 sits among the pattern strikes produced that same year to explore design and compositional alternatives before the circulation issue was finalized. Pattern silver strikings of this denomination are almost exclusively found in proof format, struck for collectors and Mint insiders rather than any serious production trial.