1878 Pattern Morgan Dollar. Judd-1550b, Pollock-1726. Rarity-6+. Copper. Reeded Edge. Proof-65 BN (P

1878 Pattern Morgan Dollar. Judd-1550b, Pollock-1726. Rarity-6+. Copper. Reeded Edge. Proof-65 BN (PCGS). OGH.，<strong>Obv:</strong> Virtually identical to the design that the Mint adopted for regular issue Morgan dollar production in 1878. The point of the neck truncation is closer to star 1 than to digit 1 in the date, the wheat leaf at the top of Libertys cap is below the left edge of the letter R in PLURIBUS, and the designers initial M is raised on Libertys neck instead of incuse. <strong>Rev: </strong>Similar to the adopted design, although there are only three leaves on the branch in the eagles talon and the wing attachments to the eagles torso are "fan shaped" instead of notched. A richly original Gem, both sides are warmly patinated in deep reddish-copper. Fully struck with a smooth appearance, a bit more vibrancy to the surfaces may have secured an even higher numeric grade for this premium quality specimen. The old style PCGS insert uses the attribution Judd-1551 (PCGS coin #61912), indicative of a time before the numismatic community had started using the new Judd-1550a/1550b attributions to distinguish the "fan shaped" wing attachments variant of this type from its notched-wing counterpart.<p>This is a perennially popular type that enjoys equally strong demand among advanced Morgan dollar collectors and dedicated pattern enthusiasts. The first prototype of what would eventually become George T. Morgans famous silver dollar feature only three leaves on the reverse branch and "fanshaped" wing attachments for the eagle. According to Roger Burdette (as related on the website <em>uspatterns.com</em>), the Mint struck at least 50 silver impressions of both this type (Judd-1550a) and its notched-wing counterpart (Judd-1550) between December 1, 1877 and January 2, 1878. Copper examples were also produced, the extant population for the Judd-1550b/Pollock-1726 die combination offered here on the order of only half a dozen specimens.，From the Janet Nakushian Collection.，