1873 Two Cent Patterns

About This Coin

Produced at the Philadelphia Mint during the final year of the Trade Dollar Era Patterns (1871-1873), the 1873 Two Cent Patterns carry added significance because the regular-issue two-cent piece was abolished that same year by the Coinage Act of 1873 — the controversial "Crime of '73" that also demonetized silver. William Barber's obverse features the seated Liberty facing left with olive branch and wheat sheaf, proposing a complete reimagination of a denomination that had carried Longacre's shield design since 1864. The reverse displays an eagle perched on a bale of goods with olive branch and three arrows, applying the Trade Dollar era's commercial vocabulary to the two-cent piece. A notable auction result of $23K in PR64+ grade at Heritage Auctions reflects the paradoxical appeal of a pattern for a denomination being simultaneously discontinued — collectors are drawn to the irony of the Mint investing design resources in a coin it was about to eliminate. For numismatic historians, the 1873 Two Cent Patterns illuminate the disconnect between the Mint's pattern program and its policy decisions.