Lot 2855
1797 Draped Bust Dollar. 9 stars left, 7 right, large letters. . B-1, BB-73. PCGS graded EF-45. Lightly toned on both sides. In 1797, the number of stars on the silver dollar was increased to 16 over what it had been in 1796. The coinage is said by government reports to be the lowest of any year from 1795 to 1803, although now it is understood that the numbers given are faulty. Bowers, in his encyclopedia of silver dollars believes that most or all of the mintage of 7,776 coins reported for the calendar year may have been of earlier dates, and that most coins struck from dies dated 1797 were actually made in early 1798: "I estimate the number to be 60,000 (within about 10%). As noted earlier in the present text, numerous numismatic data suggest that the mintage of 1797 must have been about on a par with that of 1796, or not significantly different."
In 1797, production problems were rife at the Mint. Sporadic coinage runs for silver dollars occurred in February, late May to late June, and in August. The Mint was closed from late August to late November, due to a yellow fever outbreak. Thus, the mintage for the calendar year was truncated.
Smooth "old silver" patina on choice surfaces send this specimen to the head of the line for survivors in its grade. A touch of weakness is seen at the lovelock curl on Liberty's neck, but here it is probably that the dies were spaced just far enough apart to prevent stronger metal flow in that area; the reverse details are especially nice for a small eagle silver dollar. The rims, too, show outstanding preservation, a major bonus for the astute collector hoping to acquire one of this year. Pop 3; 4 finer; 3 in 55; 1 in 58. (PCGS # 40003) .
Estimated Value $7,500 - 8,000.
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| Realized $8,050 |
