1871 3C J-1045, BN (Proof)

Judd 1045 is generally referred to as a die trial in Copper of the regular Three-Cent Nickel dies of 1871. However, there was never really an expectation that Three Cent pieces were to be made of Copper. They were already being made of Silver and Nickel, as they had been since 1851 and 1865, respectiively. Saul Teichman of usppatterns.com suggests that they might have been made for sale to collectors as part of complete off-metal sets of the year. However, the extreme raroiy of Judd 1045 implies either that sales fell far shourt of projections or there was another, unknown purpose for their issue.

Auction citations of this issue are few and far between. Only the PCGS PR61BN (pictured above) is listed in the PCGS APR's. The best example, a PCGS PR66+RB, was sold privately into the Bob R. Simpson collection.