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1798 Dollar - A plate coin in a major reference.
BillJones
Posts: 34,788 ✭✭✭✭✭
Finding a coin that was used as a plate coin in a major reference work is always a lot of fun. I really amazed when I spotted this one a couple of days ago. This 1798, Bolender 17, silver dollar was plated in Dave Bowers' Silver Dollar Encyclopedia some years ago. I spotted this piece when I was looking for a 1798 dollar to go in my early dollar one a year date set. When I pulled open the Bowers book to get some more information on the variety when I started matching up the little marks on the coin. WOW! It's the same one. It cost me a bit more than a "normal" 1798 Heraldic Eagle dollar, but this is kind of special.
This is now a PCGS EF-40. It once was an NGC EF-45. It is listed in the Bowers book as the "Higgins Specimen, EF-40" that Bowers and Merena Galleries auctioned off in 1988. Back then they graded VF-35 to EF-40.
Here is the write-up I posted in my registry set:
In 1798 Robert Scott replaced his heavily criticized Small Eagle reverse with the Heraldic Eagle reverse design. This design would continue until the mint suspended production of the Bust Dollar in 1804. The Heraldic Eagle would also appear on the rare 1804 Silver dollars, which the mint would produce starting in the 1830s.
This 1798 dollar is a very nice example of the rare Bolender 17, BB-101 die variety. In the early days of die variety research this variety was considered to be quite rare with only a few pieces known. Since the die variety studies have reached the collector base, the coin has become more common, but with an estimated population of 70 to 120 pieces, it is still rated as an Rarity 4 (estimated 76 to 200 known). This piece is also among the finest known examples since the best piece has been graded EF-45.
The obverse die for the BB-101 failed fairly quickly after several hundred pieces were struck. The obverse die shows bulges in back of Ms. Liberty's head and there is an extensive die crack on the left side from stars 1 to 7 that also resulted in uneven denticles on the left side next to the rim.
This piece is the plate coin from David Bowers' monumental work, Silver Dollars & Trade Dollar of the United States, A Complete Encyclopedia. It is listed the Bowers condition census as the "Higgins Specimen, EF-40" which was auctioned as lot #2216 in 1988.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
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Comments
Really great coin with a neat history. Congrats on a nice pickup for you set.
Too many positive BST transactions with too many members to list.
TD
(Major understatement o' the day)
...until then I will enjoy this one
Looking for Top Pop Mercury Dime Varieties & High Grade Mercury Dime Toners.