1620

1798 Draped Bust S$1. Sm. Eagle 13 Stars BB-82 NGC AU55

Currency:USD Category:Coins & Paper Money / US Coins Start Price:11,000.00 USD Estimated At:22,000.00 - 26,000.00 USD
1798 Draped Bust S$1. Sm. Eagle 13 Stars BB-82 NGC AU55
Lustrous and highly attractive. Somewhat weak on the eagle and lower right cloud. The year 1798 saw the number of obverse stars decreased from 16 (used in 1797) to 13, the number that remained in effect throughout the remainder of the series. An exception is provided by the only other small eagle variety, BB-81, with 15 stars, an anachronism created by using a leftover undated die prepared in 1795 or early 1796 (before the 16-star format became standard following the admission of Tennessee to the Union), and dating it 1798.

Two reverse designs were employed: the much scarcer older Small Eagle type (1798 BB-81 and BB-82) and the new Heraldic Eagle motif (all other 1798 varieties BB-91 to BB-125). The vast majority of 1798 dollars minted were of the Heraldic Eagle type. This is the familiar 13 star obverse, BB-82 design, with draped bust Liberty and a small eagle reverse.

Of the two 1798 die varieties with Small Eagle reverse (BB-81 and BB-82), 1798 BB-82 is the more plentiful, but only by a slight margin. 1798 BB-82 also happens to be the only 1798-dated dollar with 13 obverse stars in combination with the Small Eagle reverse; all others are mated with the Heraldic Eagle reverse.

An estimated 700 to 1,000 1798 BB-82 silver dollars exist, most of which are Very Fine or Extremely Fine examples. Any coin in better grade, like the current attractive, lustrous specimen, is rare.
(#6867)<p><i>The Gonzaga Collection</i>