1851 Pattern Cent. Billon, plain edge, perforated

1851 Pattern Cent. Billon, plain edge, perforated (image 1/3)
1851 Pattern Cent. Billon, plain edge, perforated (image 2/3)
1851 Pattern Cent. Billon, plain edge, perforated (image 3/3)
Pricing & History
1851 Pattern Cent. Billon, plain edge, perforated. NGC graded Proof 64. Struck in billon metal, the color is natural light to medium gray with smooth surfaces and an intriguing design. Inner and outer wide rims give it a target appearance. Plain edge. Pop 2; 1 in 66. Low Rarity 6. According to Judd, `The attempt to produce an acceptable ring cent was continued using a different design but the same alloy and weight as in 1850. The reasons why the ring cent was not adopted are outlined by the Director of the Mint in a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury, dated May 26, 1854. He explained that the cost of recovering the silver would exceed the value of the bullion and that the mechanical difficulties in making ring cents are not trivial. They lie not in planchet cutting but in stamping and ejecting the coins from the dies. I estimate that most of the value of a cent so formed would be sunk in the cost of striking.`.
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