How were patterns released from the mint?

airplanenut

Were they just sold off to collectors? Given as gifts to special people? What did the mint do?

Thanks,

Jeremy

coinkat

It kinda makes you wonder doesn't it...

kryptonitecomics

They were somehow smuggled out and funneled to boiler78..................

Russ

The back door.

Russ, NCNE

LindeDad

I think the old Johnny Cash song applies here. "I got it one piece at a time."

CalGold

Many were exchanged for the Union and Half Union patterns. Don't remember how those got out in the first place but there was a lot of hank panky back then with money changing hands. Boiler, Andy Lustig or some of the other pattern guys certainly would know.

More recently, 1974, pattern aluminium cents were delivered to members of Congress for their review. Some of them were "misplaced." Those are illegal to own.

CG

RKKay

Many were given to members of Congress and dignitaries. Most "patterns" are not true patterns, but rather pieces du caprice made for direct sale to collectors or for Mint insiders, such as Linderman.

oreville

Keep in mind that times have changed. In the "old" days the US Mint prided itself on personal service to collectors who knew the US Mint Director and Chief Engravers, etc.

Even as late as the 1960's and 1970's, I used to go to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Cleveland and Boston "windows" and would get to pick out any kind of US Mint bag of any denomination I wanted and was treated with dignity and respect, even for a small transaction such as a $50 bag of US cents numerous times at the height of the excitement over the release of the 1972 doubled die cents in August 1972.

Nowadays, it is a damned "secret operation" in which the Fed banks no longer are directly involved and the whole thing has been delegated to the armored car services and the Federal Reserve Banks no longer are willing to deal with the general public.

If the young collectors of today had only been able to see the wonder of the Federal Reserve Bank at work with the young collectors in those days!!!!!

coinkat

my new title... Dignitary at Large

MrEureka

Many were given to members of Congress and dignitaries. Most "patterns" are not true patterns, but rather pieces du caprice made for direct sale to collectors or for Mint insiders, such as Linderman.

Also, many were probably made primarily for the artist's pleasure, e.g., Morgan's Schoolgirl Dollar. I think it's important to differentiate between these works of art and other "patterns" - most notably post-1856 "regular dies trial pieces" and mules - that were made purely to line a few pockets.

morgannut2

There actually were pattern or experimental strikes at the mint to test new designs. A large number of these if I remember were issued in a trade to a dealer who was legally forced to give back a rare gold piece or pieces he had sold a major collector with government connections. He literally got I think "two large crates" of old test pieces in the settlement which were dispersed through auction and trade. Of course others were given to favored people, especially congressmen such as some of the gold Stella pieces, except they stopped because the coins kept appearing around the necks of Capital Hill prostitutes. Many many others were made for collectors/dealers specifically as there was no true mint program of proof and other sales like today. RKay or some other pattern dealers posting here have details if you're interested in a coin to buy, sell, or wish to know the history of a particular piece.