Lets make a list of coins with speculative existence. (1895 Morgan Business Strike as example)

The 1804 Silver Dollar. It falls into three categories; some are original, some would be later restrikes and the true total has never been firmly established. While it is a coin that has been seen, held and owned, nobody really knows the full accuracy of specimens that do exist. There are 15 in total, including the ones that are considered of "later" production:
http://www.coinfacts.com/silver_dollars/1804_dollars/1804_Draped_Bust_Silver_Dollar.htm

 

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They did experiment with glass cents as a possible replacement for copper on the 1943 cents. They were made in 1942 using the Sinnock experimental design with the first reverse. They were made by the Corning Glass Works. Only a single example is known today. Catalog # RB 42-70 United States Patterns and Experimental Pieces of WW-II by Roger Burdette.

No the 1974 Philadelphia aluminum cents were given out to the Senators. The Mint has no record of ever making ANY 1974 D aluminum cents. (But they still want that one known piece back. Oddly they have never made any attempt to recover the one known 1974 P aluminum cent that is in private hands.)

The did make copper clad steel 1974 P cents as well. Several of those are in private hands and the government says they belong to them as well, but once again they have made no attempt to recover those either. I would imagine they will not try to recover either the aluminum or copper clad steel 1974 cents unless they are put up for public auction.

 

1942 has a ton of super cool patterns for Lincoln cents.

 

Supposedly, silver-clad Ike dollars were made only at the San Francisco mint.

But the 2015 Red Book says, "A few 1974-D and 1977-D dollars in silver clad composition were made in error."

If those coins exist, maybe Denver silver Ikes were also made in other years.

Is that "speculative existence"?

 

A coin I thought would get mentioned is the 1873-s Seated Liberty Dollar.

Supposedly 700 struck and 2 shipped out and possibly unaccounted for but never seen again.

Also there is the 1873-s Seated HALF Dollar No Arrows that was also supposedly struck. Now this coin people have claimed in the past to have but to my knowledge never been verified so still not sure they ever actually existed.

A 1873-s Seated Dollar would be an amazing find.

 

Not only Ikes, but Kennedy halves. I've seen both a 77-D silver Kennedy and a 77-D silver Ike. There were supposedly 12 halves and 6 dollars struck in 40% by the Denver mint in 1977. I can't remember the full story about why those are the numbers, but I remember hearing those numbers.

 

Some of the R-10 Civil War tokens are listed solely on the word of one of the Fulds. They knew a guy who knew a guy who saw one once kind of thing.

 

San Francisco sends clad proof planchets that do not "measure up" to quality standards to Denver to be used for circulation coins. The 40% silver planchets used for the 1976 bicentennial coins would be used for the business strike coins that year. A few got mixed in with the rejected clad planchets and shipped to Denver in error. That explains the 1974-D 40% silver coins (The 74's were struck through mid 75 while they were also striking the bicentennial coins), the 77-D's are a little harder to explain because they stopped striking the 40% silver bicentennials in 1975. So why were the silver planchets not shipped to Denver until 1977? Why not in 1976?


The 1873-S standard dollar and no arrows half dollar were struck, examples were shipped to Washington for the annual trial of the pyx.

No other examples have ever been confirmed, but there have been rumors of them over the years.

 

I don't know if this is speculative, but I've often hoped that an 1870-S quarter existed.

 

Yeah me too. I wonder if there's one in the cornerstone. Nobody thought there was a half dime either

 

1917 Matte Proof Lincoln Cent would be a nice one

 

Like this one owned by Robec

This actually graded PCGS MS64BN -- but it looks like how I think a 1917 MPL would look. (I actually think this looks like a 66 or even a 67 though -- hammered strike, nary a mark, great gloss).

 

Wow. Just wow. CAC would have to invent a new class of bean above the Gold for that one at MS64. If this isn't the Condition Census 1917-P Brown I'll eat my hat; PCGS has none above 65 and this is a solid 67.

 

There are records that at least one was struck for the cornerstone. Whether it still exists, or if there is another one out there somewhere is open to debate. (The 70 S half dime was also made for the cornerstone but it was not known to exist outside the cornerstone, wherever it may be, until 1982.)

 

I will swear I saw one sold on Heritage, but when I went to show it to someone, it was gone.

 

Ha. My 1865 two cent (my avatar) has very similar colors on the obverse and PCGS called it 'Unc Details - Questionable Color'.

 

Now imagine there is a set of 1869-cc coins put in a cornerstone?

Was there not 1970 Clad Peace dollars struck as well?

 

Yes there were as early experiments in making silver dollar sized clad coins to give them experience when they were preparing for the Ike dollars.