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1796 $2 1/2 Stars AU58 PCGS.

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:550.00 USD Estimated At:1.00 - 1,000,000.00 USD
1796 $2 1/2 Stars AU58 PCGS.
<B>1796<$2 1/2> Stars AU58 PCGS.</B></I> Breen-2, Breen-6114, Bass-3003, R.5. Housed in an older green-label PCGS holder, this coin is nothing short of amazing. Both sides have clash marks that are arguably the heaviest that exist on any U.S. coin. These clash marks and other die characteristics are described in detail below.<BR> It is believed that the 1796 With Stars quarter eagles were struck in late December 1796, or in early January 1797. The Chief Coiner made a delivery of quarter eagles to the Mint Treasurer on January 14, 1797. That delivery consisted of 432 coins, and this quantity is the mintage figure that is now associated with this issue, and published in most standard references. Our discussion of mintages in the 1796 No Stars offering, above, provides some statistical support to back up this assertion. Today, approximately 45 examples of this variety are known, similar to the 1797 quarter eagle, and these two issues represent the two rarest issues of the early quarter eagle series, although some individual die varieties, such as the 1804 13 Stars variety, are rarer.<BR> The 1796 With Stars quarter eagle has some intriguing die characteristics that are seldom seen in the early U.S. numismatic arena. The 16 obverse stars are arranged with eight on each side, while most 16 stars coinage has the stars divided with nine or even 10 stars on the left and the balance on the right. All of the obverse stars are oriented point to point, rather than the usual arrangement of single points toward the border. The only other instance where this has occurred is the 1794 dollar, and that coin only has the point to point arrangement on the right. On the reverse, the shield is remarkably wide, with eight vertical stripes. Only the quarter eagles and half eagles struck from 1795 through 1797 have such a count. All other Heraldic Eagle coins have either six or seven stripes, us <BR><BR><B>Important notice: