United States 1796 dollar
This specimen was lot 1572 in Stephen Album sale 47 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2023), where it sold for $10,800. The catalog description[1] noted, "UNITED STATES: AR dollar, 1796, Draped Bust Small Eagle type, small date and small letters variety, a very attractive example with partial underlying luster under old original toning, PCGS graded XF40. Three major varieties comprise the entire run of 1796 Silver Dollars: 1) Small Date, Small Letters; 2) Small Date, Large Letters; and 3) Large Date, Small Letters. Each of these major varieties is made up of one or more die varieties. The difference in the size of the dates is fairly apparent when the Small and Large Dates are placed side-by-side, but individual coins may be difficult to attribute out of context. The size difference of the lettering on the reverse is more dramatic and more easily discerned. Of the three major varieties, the Small Date, Small Letters is likely the most common. The finest examples certified by PCGS include four coins at the AU58 level with none in Mint State." In weight, alloy and module, the early United States dollars were close copies of the Spanish American portrait eight reales circulating in large numbers. The reverse was redesigned to use the heraldic eagle in 1798 and struck in that form through 1803.
Recorded mintage: 72,920 all varieties.
Specification: 26.96 g, 0.892 fine silver, 39-40 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 18.
- Alexander, David T., Coin World Comprehensive Catalog & Encyclopedia of United States Coins, Sidney, OH: Amos Press, 1995.
- Breen, Walter H., Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U. S. and Colonial Coins, New York: Doubleday, 1987.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 47, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2023.
Link to:
- 1795 "flowing hair" silver dollar
- 1795 "draped bust" silver dollar
- 1796 half dime
- 1796 quarter dollar
- 1796 half dollar
- Bolivia 1796-PTS PP 8 reales
- Chile 1796-So DA 8 reales
- Guatemala 1796-NG M 8 reales
- Mexico 1796-Mo FM 8 reales
- Peru 1796-L IJ 8 reales
- 1799 dollar, heraldic eagle reverse
- Coins and currency dated 1796
- return to United States Draped Bust Silver Dollars (1795-1804)