This incredible silver dollar is one of the finest known examples of the popular BB-141 die variety. The luster is simply outstanding for a silver dollar of this type, the texture vibrant and satiny over both sides. The strike is no less impressive with uniformly bold borders framing devices that are sharply struck over all but a few isolated features. Indeed, the overall definition is as strong and complete as one could realistically expect in a Draped Bust dollar of any date or variety. Brilliant and highly attractive, this coin would be the centerpiece of a fine early dollar set. Exquisite!BB-141 is one of the most popular and eagerly sought die marriages among 1799-dated silver dollars, combining as it does an overdate obverse die with a reverse die readily recognizable as having a blundered arc star pattern. On the obverse, the final digit 9 in the date has been punched over an 8, remnants of the underdigit quite bold and readily evident even without the aid of a loupe. The reverse exhibits 15 stars above the eagle as opposed to the normal 13, although the additional two stars can be difficult to discern for the uninitiated. They protrude from the first and final clouds, which were enlarged by the engraver to cover most of the extra stars when he realized his blunder. BB-141 is not a major rarity in an absolute sense -- it is actually a fairly plentiful die marriage by 1799 dollar standards -- but in MS-64, as here, the variety is an important condition rarity. In fact, the finest examples of this die pair extant have been certified MS-64+ and MS-64 by the major certification services, as follows:1 - <strong>NGC MS-64+.</strong> Ex Colonel E.H.R. Green; Green Estate; Partnership of Eric P. Newman and Burdette G. Johnson, doing business as St. Louis Stamp & Coin Co.; Eric P. Newman, acquired for $35; Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society; Heritages sale of the Eric P. Newman Collection, Part II, November 2013, lot 33507.2 - <strong>PCGS MS-64.</strong> Purchased from Times Square Stamp and Coin in 1938 for $75 by an anonymous New York collector, and off the market since that time. <strong>The present example</strong>.3 - <strong>PCGS MS-64. </strong>Ex Heritages Denver, CO Signature and Platinum Night Auction of August 2006, lot 5302; private Midwest collection.4 - <strong>PCGS MS-64. </strong>Ex our (Stacks) Public Auction Sale of June 1990, lot 400; our Chicago ANA Rarities Night Auction of August 2011, lot 7398; our Baltimore Rarities Night Auction of March 2012, lot 4115; our Philadelphia ANA Rarities Night Auction of August 2012, lot 11483.A bit about Times Square Stamp and Coin: Little has been recorded concerning this New York City company. In brief, it was operated by Gustave Moerz from at least the late 1930s through the 1950s. An Associated Press news account of May 1949 tells that a customer attempted to enter the company, found the door locked and heard the screams of a pet parrot, "Lorchen" who said "Let me out! Goodbye, goodbye!" The customer summoned the building superintendent who found the owner bound in a chair by tape. Moerz told police that two men had broken into the shop, taped him up, and had stolen $664 from a safe and $100 from his pockets. In 1938 our company (Stacks) in the same city was five years old.This near Gem is of the finest and most important Draped Bust silver dollars that we have offered in recent years and is sure to see spirited bidding as a highlight of this Rarities Auction.
