Lot 2881
United States 1$ 1799/8. Rarity 2. PCGS graded AU-53. Light even toning over very choice surfaces. The rim dentils or segments are wide and complete, with nothing in the way of marks on the rims or in the surface. In the date 1799, the last 9 is punched over previous 8, and definitive as such; the only overdate die of the year. Last 9 of date very close to bust. Stars very close together. Letters of LIBERTY are widely spaced. There are some die flaws at the left base of E, under RT, and above R. The same obverse die was shared to coin BB-141, BB-142, and BB-143. This die was not used to strike 1798 dollars before it was overdated. This obverse die was used to strike BB-141 (1st use), BB-142 (2nd use), and BB-143 (relapped; 3rd use).
Paired with this obverse is the unusual 15 stars reverse; this is definitive, although to the uninitiated the two extra stars are not readily seen, at least at first. They are nearly lost in cloud 1 and cloud 8, and just the points show. The result is a blundered arc pattern of stars with five (instead of six) stars in the top row, six (instead of five) in the second row, and the usual one to each side of the eagle's head, plus the superfluous star points peeking out from the bottoms of clouds 1 and 8.
In terms of availability among overdates of this year, 1799/8 BB-141 is the most affordable, edging out BB-142 by a healthy margin. It seems likely that about 700 to 1,200 are known today of this variety. This is to the benefit of collectors of Red Book die varieties since it makes the interesting combination of the overdate obverse and the blundered die 15-star reverse available to all. Pop 2; 2 finer, 1 in 58, 1 in 62 (PCGS # 40064) .
Estimated Value $7,000 - 7,500.
The Dr. Robert Hesselgesser Collection.
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| Realized $10,925 |
