1874 P$10 Bickford, Gold J-1373

Coin / United States of America / P$10 / Patterns / 1874 / Philadelphia

1874 Bickford International $10. The idea for this internationally denominated pattern came from Dana Bickford, who, upon his return from a trip abroad, proposed that the United States needed a coin that could be easily converted into the currencies of other nations. Bickford—an entrepreneur who devised many products, including hand-operated knitting machines—believed that travelers needed an easy way to convert money as they traveled from country to country. The back of “Dana Bickford’s International Coin,” as it was called in 1876, bore the weight of the coin (in gold), the fineness (or purity), and the value in six different international currencies. Unfortunately, because of the ever-changing relationship of world currencies, the Bickford pattern proved unworkable and “died on the vine.”