Dauntless Early American Collection of 1838 and 1839 Pattern Half Dollars

About This Set: If you have a passion for Early American Half Dollars welcome to the Early Mint show. A combination of essai strikes, mint restrikes, and restrikes made outside the mint with discarded dies, make up this amazing array of Liberty Head and Liberty Seated Half Dollar patterns. The set has taken about fifteen years to get to this advanced level. Take a look and pick your favorite! The patterns are stuck both in copper and silver with varying edges. The recent availability of a number of vary rare varieties from the Robert Simpson Collection sold by Heritage Galleries in a series of six auctions from 2020 to 2021 has allowed this collection to progress to near completion with only Judd-94 [unique, although a second might exists] not yet found. A surprise event occurred in May of 2022 with the Bass Collection being deaccessioned by their Foundation that held one of two known examples of Judd-91 (the other example remains in the Durham Museum).

This collection is an extremely difficult set to develop with five Judd numbers being unique or unique in private hands. Two varieties are not known outside of museums, Judd-75 [unique in Smithsonian] and Judd-83 [unique in Smithsonian]. Of note, three others are not available because either they do not exist (Judd-75a and Judd-92) or is likely misattributed (Judd-102a) per USpatterns.com. These same three are listed as unconfirmed in the current Judd pattern as well. Therefore, the 1838-1839 Half Dollar Pattern Set has 27 collectable coins in total. So far, 26 of 27 coins available coins have been assembled in this all-time finest set. Only one coins from collector "perfection". It might useful in the future for PCGS to designate coins only available in museums as such and unconfirmed coins as such..