The finest I have ever seen or heard of. — Ed PriceThis is the finest known example of this famous issue, in terms of rarity. Cartwheel luster spins around both sides like a silver propeller, showcasing the frosty freshness of the surfaces. The obverse shows light toning, just a hint of gold over silver gray, while the reverse reveals a dappling of other subtle colors and sedate stripes of copper and blue. As is standard for JR-2, the central obverse is quite softly defined and the central reverse is similar. This very rare die marriage apparently met its demise early, condemned by several die clashes whose vestiges remain visible on this coin. Only trivial hairlines are seen, along with just a few scattered minor marks, including a short scrape on Libertys upper chest and two shallow abrasions at the central reverse.Called one of the rarest of the bust dime type coins in the JR book, this rare die variety also happens to be a Guide Book variety, the sole marriage combining the 1798/7 overdate obverse with a 13 Star reverse. The Bareford coin reappeared in the sales of the Lovejoy and Bolen collections, but Ed Price preferred this one, saying The dime book lists the Bareford coin as the finest the authors had seen. I owned that coin and the present piece for several years. This example that I retained is clearly superior, and is the finest I have seen or heard of. While Ed Price, a superb pedigree tracker, was unable to find a previous appearance of this coin, your cataloger believes it to be the F.C.C. Boyd coin based upon identical centering and some toning similarities that appear even with the very low quality photographs typical of mid 20th century catalog production. Despite being graded Very Fine, luster is clear in the photograph. The Boyd coin brought $105, more than any other dime in the collection, including several gem 1796s.This is the only example graded MS-63 by PCGS and one of just three Mint State pieces certified by them. The JR book notes at most, three may claim MS-60 or better condition.
