My big FUN show purchase – A 1797 16 Star Dime
BillJones
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Years ago I owned a 1797, 16 star dime. I sold the piece when I bought an upgrade for the type. A few months ago I bid on a 1797, 16 star dime in a similar grade to the one I had sold, but didn’t get it. I found out that a dealer had bought it. He and I met at the FUN show, and we agreed on a price. The grade is PCGS VF-25.
This dime offers some interesting insights into the workings of the first United States Mint. Quality steel for coin dies was in short supply, and sometimes the mint used subpar quality metal to get by.
The big die break above the date is on all of the known pieces. The die probably broke during the hardening process. Since the date area didn’t fall off the die entirely, the mint personnel used it. Gradually over time, the die sank more and more until the date disappeared.
I spotted this terminal or close terminal die state on the Internet some years ago.
There was also the matter of squeezing 16 stars on the obverse. Tennessee had just become a state, and the mint had the idea of adding a star each time a new state joined the Union. The die sinker, probably Robert Scot, cut little hash marks which still show in some places to help space the stars.
After this the mint personnel realized that they didn’t have room for any more stars. They cut back to 13 which represented the original 13 states. This represents some of the fun aspects of collecting early U.S. coins.
This dime is fairly scarce. There are probably fewer than 200 of them in all grades, which go up to MS-65. The coin does not appear very frequently, even in the major auctions.
Comments
Thank you for the education and congrats on your acquisition !!
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Cool ya got that back. That's interesting
Very cool coin, and congratulations on its acquisition! It was great to see you at the show!
An authorized PCGS dealer, and a contributor to the Red Book.
Nice. I kinda have wanted one but not done so, so far (only a couple early dimes).
Here is a previous thread on them with some coin die cracking/breaking progression examples.
https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1074571/1797-raised-date
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Fascinating coin and thanks for the info regarding its manufacture.
I enjoyed speaking with you at Al’s table, Bill.
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running like a water color in the rain...."
Really cool coin and great write up! Thank you for sharing.
Great coin !
Glad you found a nice one.....
Nice one Bill! Great look and nice explanation of the die and the manufacture!!
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Thanks for the information.
Really, really cool!
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
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JWP
Informative story and a cool pickup. Congrats on your find.
Rare coin in a good collector grade.
Congratulations!
I always feel smarter after reading your posts.
Sometimes, it’s better to be LUCKY than good. 🍀 🍺👍
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Bill - great pickup & very informative thread. It was nice to meet you at the show!
Ken
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Awesome pickup. Thanks for sharing some great info on the piece.
Donato
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I always thought a 16 star sub collection would be neat. Way too expensive for me though.
Really? This one only cost me $2.
Admittedly, it may take some searching to find another like it.
The historical research really does enhance this coin. Nice pickup. Peace Roy
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