Lot 2578
1797 Draped Bust Dime. 13 stars. . JR-2. NGC graded AU-55. JR-1. Nicely toned on both sides. Carefully preserved by its former owners, the choice surfaces display natural "old silver" patina with a bit of iridescence. The overall appearance greatly bolstered by this coin's acknowledged rarity in all grades. It comes down to this: Valentine-1 is the rarest of four varieties for the year, and it is the only die variety of the design type with 13 stars on the obverse. Both sides have a few shallow clash marks, and the reverse has several die breaks. A very important coin, within the Condition Census quality for the variety. Only two die varieties exist for 1797 dimes, and both are listed in the Red Book: the 16 star and the 13 star obverse, as here. The rarity of this variety is not fully appreciated; most are from a later die state that affects the area of the date. This has a sharp full date with no break. A piece that once owned, there will be no reason to upgrade, ever. Even the most inveterate critiquer of early U.S. coins will find nothing to fault here. A showpiece in any early a dime collection. Pop 4; 1 in 58 for the variety at NGC.
Estimated Value $15,000 - 17,000.
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| Realized $17,825 |
