$3 Gold Private Pattern by Joseph Merriam, 1866.
DCW
Posts: 7,505 ✭✭✭✭✭
Here is a great piece I picked up from Kagins a few months ago, and I'm just now getting around to posting it: Judd-C1866, Pollock-5080 $3 Gold 
A lovely private pattern struck in the aftermath of the American Civil War. 1866
The obverse has been attributed to Joseph H. Merriam. It is thought that he created it as a pattern for new coinage following the assassination of President Lincoln. Interesting to note is the phrase "God and Our Country," which at that time was kicked around with another motto reflecting the nation's Christian beliefs, "In God We Trust."
The reverse is a known mint pattern die, probably produced by Longacre. I would have to believe that this was meant for a three cent piece, but given the fact that it is struck in gold, it has been called a $3 pattern.
Although Merriam advertised on his storecards that he worked with gold, silver, copper, and tin, his work struck in gold is represented solely by the above and an 1868 Lincoln pattern of the same design, missing the motto. Both are extremely rare, and only a handful are known.
It is entirely possible that his dies simply made their way to the Philadelphia mint, where a few examples were struck using the "III" reverse die. Perhaps Merriam brought them there himself.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Comments
This looks sweet, in terms of both composition and condition.
Some questions about this piece:
A very interesting trades token, but there does not appear to be any connection with the US Mint or Treasury. Therefore, calling it a "pattern" or any ilk seems promotional, not factual.
Here is the 1868 nickel version. It's interesting that this one also does not have Merriam's name on it. I really like these pieces, but I'm curious how good the attribution to Merriam is if neither of the two known pieces using this device have his name on it?
Surely that would depend upon if the design was up for consideration by Congress, no?
Cheers
Bob
This was attributed long ago by a few numismatists, Maurice Gould being one of them. Walter Breen included it in his booklet on $3 patterns.
While Merriam did sign the majority of his work, by no means did he leave his mark on all of it. There are many examples of this.
Also, one would think if he were trying to get a piece used by the mint for circulating coinage, his name would certainly be absent on the die. It was not yet customary to add such things to the design.
Roger I'm curious as to why you'd think this was a promotion? This is included in Judd and Pollock and with but a few known, what really is there to promote?
The reverse is most definitely associated with the US Mint. Here is another pattern, J-632 using a reverse die that is clearly from the same hand. 1868, five cent pattern.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Very cool, thanks for sharing
Latin American Collection
cool piece. the condition is great!
Very nice!
My YouTube Channel
I question the attribution to Joseph Merriam. As soon as I saw that Lincoln bust, these three pieces popped into my mind.
Fuld 128
Fuld 131
Fuld 131A
All three of these Lincoln bust portrait punches were done by William Key who worked in Philadelphia. Key did do work for the U.S. Mint and was employed there as a die sinker.
The reverse is accepted as a Mint pattern die.
And don't call me Shirley!
How about "US Mint pattern" v. "Non-US mint pattern".
Lots of pioneer pieces qualify for the latter designation although many are die trials.
I like the top of the reverse which is similar to the trime (by the top star)
My comment was intended to point out that there is, as far as I have seen, any document connecting the tokens to the Mint Bureau of Treasury. Because the reverse "resembles" a 3-cent or 5-cent does not mean there is any US Mint connection.
RE: "This was attributed long ago by a few numismatists, Maurice Gould being one of them. Walter Breen included it in his booklet on $3 patterns."
This is very nice. But on what basis was it attributed and called a "pattern" of any sort. What correspondence did Gould cite from Merriam or the Mint? Breen's inclusion only raises additional questions - at least to me.
The "old time" researchers seem to fit into two or three categories: Eric Newman-type who kept extensive notes, dug for information, and searched for coherent answers. Breen-types who dug into archival material but embellished with phony anecdotes and lies when they didn't get the results they expected. Last were the popular expert-types who were in the business for years, knew a lot of bits and pieces, write short popular articles and almost never supported their conclusions with facts and data.
RE: William Key
As the Capn' stated, the reverse is accepted as a mint pattern die.
Cheers
Bob
Roger, I respectfully disagree. The resemblance to this Longacre nickel reverse is too great to be coincidence.
http://www.uspatterns.com/j565p626.html
Obviously a number of dies traceable back to Longacre and/or the Mint's die department got out of the mint and into the hands of somebody who used them and abused them with child-like glee, but I do think that a Mint connection must exist.
The nickels of this era were the hardest part of the pattern section David Novoselsky and I wrote for the Coin World Encyclopedia.
I never thought this was in question. The V nickel I posted is J-632, and it is absolutely the same work as the reverse of my pattern. Whether or not the obverse is Merriam's can be debated all night long. It's resemblance to Bill Jones' Key tokens is apparent, but it is not exact. Merriam drew inspiration from many engravers of the day, sometimes downright "stealing" their depictions with some degree of variation as we see on my pattern and BillJones' Key tokens:
For example:
Here is Charles Cushing Wright's Daniel Webster medal:
And here is Merriam's obverse:
Then he uses the same slogan on the reverse, but with a wreath:
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Coincidence and imitation are not the same thing. I said nothing about there being a coincidence.
RE: "Obviously a number of dies traceable back to Longacre and/or the Mint's die department got out of the mint and into the hands of somebody who used them and abused them with child-like glee, but I do think that a Mint connection must exist."
That is an assumption, not a fact established by documentation or reasonable circumstances. Investigation into the restrikes and pattern confusion of the mid-19th century clearly shows that much of what is "known" is nothing but hollow speculation and layers of rotting bologna. Just as we now understand when, why and at what cost were many "pattern pieces" made for HR Lindernam, we also understand how others of this ilk were made and distributed and to whom (in some cases).
To my eyes, none of the pieces illustrated above are any sort of pattern, public or private. They are Lincoln tokens - possibly by FC Key - and made at some-or-other date. That they imitate US Mint designs is no great feat - this was pocket change.
Further, there were reducing lathes in Philadelphia in operation by several of the token and medallion makers, so imitating a coin in plaster, then making a reduction for token use was entirely within normal private business work. The Philadelphia Mint also sold tokens to visitors.
[Just a touch of legal testimony ----
What do you known about a medal styled the “Broomall medal?”
I didn’t know that there was such a medal as that. I know that Mr. [Lewis R.] Broomall [Chief Coiner] got up a small Washington, Jackson or Lincoln medal, got up by Mr. Pacquet for Mr. Broomall.
What devices were on it?
I think Lincoln was on one side of it and probably Washington on the other. I ain’t so sure about Washington, but I think Lincoln was.
Do you know anything about the dies, as regards their being the property of the Mint?
Mr. Pacquet made one for Broomall, so Broomall told me. But he paid him for the Lincoln die. The other die I don’t know about.
State, if you know, whether those medals were sold in the Mint.
I think they were.
Where in the Mint were they sold?
I think in the medal department.
Very awesome piece!
.
CoinsAreFun Toned Silver Eagle Proof Album
.
Gallery Mint Museum, Ron Landis& Joe Rust, The beginnings of the Golden Dollar
.
More CoinsAreFun Pictorials NGC
Having never examined either of these pieces, and having no chips in the game, I will take a look with fresh eyes.
Compare to this Judd-565 reverse (picture from Heritage Auction archives):
The wreaths are very similar, nearly identical. There are some differences in the engraving, but they are of the same character. I believe that both are from the same hand because the engraving styles match so closely. And the differences between the wreaths preclude any type of mechanical transfer from one to the other.
The rest of it is not as similar. The denticles on the $3 are longer, thinner and somewhat cruder than those on US Mint coins. So one possibility is that the $3 reverse die was engraved outside the Mint by someone who had experience engraving similar wreaths (or someone practiced with this wreath and later refined it for Judd-565).
The atypical denticles on the three cent die (not three dollar die) may (speculation alert!) have been added to an unfinished Longacre die after it left the Mint, in order that it could be used to strike folderol for sale at a profit. I repeat: This is speculation.
Anyone with a collection of 19th Century trade tokens is welcome to try to match the denticles on this piece with one of their tokens.
When comparing work by Merriam, Key and others, does this look more like Merriam's work or Key's work?
Using Bill's Fuld die numbers above, here are some links to Key's work on CWToken.com
Here's a link to a Merriam Lincoln token but this one looks very different because it has no beard among other things.
From just these examples, this seems to be much more like a Key piece than a Merriam piece so far. Are there other Lincoln busts positively attributed to Merriam?
Here's an interesting email from Dave Hatfield who is related to William F. Key and Frederick C. Key of FC Key and Sons on Ancestry.com. Seems like both William H. Key and William F. Key worked for the US Mint as engravers or assistant engravers with Longacre and Barber.
Possible but surely Merriam's ability to "steal" and modify someone else's work can't be the only or primary reason for attributing these to him?
So far it seems like Key's work is much closer and he also worked at the Mint in Philadelphia with Longacre, where he could have come in contact with the reverse die.
How would the Merriam theory be more plausible?
...surely Merriam's ability to "steal" and modify someone else's work can't be the only or primary reason for attributing these to him?
-No. Of course, not.
It's already been attributed by guys like Gould, Breen, Alan Herbert. David Shenkman has it in his Merriam article/reference for the Numismatist in 1980. I doubt very much it was all on a whim, but I'm relying on history here, not similarities to Key's Lincoln bust. None of those are an exact match.
I was simply pointing out that he was a skilled engraver that often "borrowed" depictions of celebrities of the day from other artists. The Merriam Lincoln you posted is the size of a half dollar, and the pattern is nickel sized. It was also made for the 1860 election when Lincoln was clean shaven. The pattern was produced at least 6 years after that token.
-Perhaps. Though, I don't know why attribution by the above gentlemen wouldve overlooked the obvious similarities.
-Again, I'm relying on the guys before us to have gotten it right. Maybe they got it wrong. Sure is a neat piece of history though. And a good mystery in itself. Somebody thought highly enough of it to have the damned thing struck in gold!
Great discussion, and I look forward to more.
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
I'm learning here, keep on posting
Successful transactions with : MICHAELDIXON, Manorcourtman, Bochiman, bolivarshagnasty, AUandAG, onlyroosies, chumley, Weiss, jdimmick, BAJJERFAN, gene1978, TJM965, Smittys, GRANDAM, JTHawaii, mainejoe, softparade, derryb, Ricko
Bad transactions with : nobody to date
It would be great to see the reasoning provided for the Merriam attribution. I'm curious what is behind the reasoning and if it can be used to attribute other pieces. As mentioned by @RogerB, some of the older attributions were speculative and do not have much, or sometimes any, support, but there may be good reasoning we haven’t seen on this thread yet as well.
Of course, it is a beautiful piece, no matter who created it
Is your Merriam $3 gold reeded or plain edge? Thanks,
This has the reeded edge. I have it slabbed by PCGS MS66 now:
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Very cool! I am new to the forum, so I don't know the etiquette.
Is your token for sale? if so how much$. Thanks, Lev
Lev, this is in my personal collection, but please send me a message through the private message feature that you can access by clicking on my username.
Thank you for your interest
Dead Cat Waltz Exonumia
"Coin collecting for outcasts..."
Hi
It appears that it didn't work, or i did sometime wrong??