1797 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. BB-72, B-2. Rarity-4. Stars 9x7, Small Letters. MS-64 (PCGS).
Secure Holder.，This is a simply outstanding Draped Bust, Small Eagle dollar irrespective of date or die variety, the fact that it is the finest known example of the fabled BB-72 die marriage confirming it as one of the most significant offerings for early dollar enthusiasts in todays market. Both sides exhibit lovely multicolored peripheral toning that frames brilliant, frosty white centers. Satiny surfaces are fully lustrous and exceptionally well preserved, the appearance expectably smooth for the impressive Choice rating from PCGS. The strike is near-perfectly centered with full denticulation around both sides that is particularly bold on the obverse. Overall detail is sharp for the type, softness to the central high points mentioned solely for accuracy. A delight to behold and possessed of undeniable numismatic rarity and significance, this coin belongs in the finest early dollar cabinet.
Bowers-Borckardt 72 is the only die marriage of the Stars 9x7, Small Letters <em>Guide Book</em> variety, and it is the rarest of the three known die pairings of the 1797 Draped Bust silver dollar. Exactly how rare has been a subject of debate among numismatic scholars with estimates on the number of survivors ranging from a low of just 20 coins to a high of 200 to 300 pieces. We believe that the latter range is much closer to the truth, hence our Rarity-4 rating for this variety. The typical survivor is well worn and grades VG to EF, with most clustered at the VF level. Such is the rarity of high grade examples that even EF coins qualify as Condition Census. About Uncirculated examples are highly elusive and, as noted above, this is the only Mint State example of the die variety known. This coin was examined by Q. David Bowers in March 1993 when it was still part of the Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society collection. The author assigned a very conservative grade of MS-62 and included it on the list of Notable Specimens in his 1993 reference <em>Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States, A Complete Encyclopedia, Volume One</em>, in which it was also plated. Due to an oversight, this coin was not included on the list of Notable Specimens for the variety in the 2013 edition of the Bowers silver dollar encyclopedia, its place as plate coin in that reference being taken by the Warren Miller specimen that we are also offering in this sale.
This variety shares its obverse with BB-73, the other Stars 9x7 variety of the 1797 dollar. In the BB-72 marriage this obverse is represented by only a single, early die state with slight evidence of lapping. Later obverse die states are known for BB-73. The reverse of BB-72 is a workhorse die that was also used to strike Small Eagle dollars of the 1795 BB-51, 1796 BB-62, 1796 BB-63, 1796 BB-66 and 1798 BB-81 varieties. Only a single die state is known in the BB-72 marriage, the reverse lightly lapped as seen in the 1796 BB-66 pairing.，PCGS# 6866. NGC ID: 24X4.，Combined PCGS and NGC Population: just 1 in all Mint State grades. A listing for an MS-64 on the NGC Census represents an earlier submission of this coin before it was crossed to its current PCGS MS-64 holder.，From the Cardinal Collection Educational Foundation. Earlier 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 $125.00; Eric P. Newman Numismatic Education Society; Heritages sale of the Eric P. Newman Collection, Part II, November 2013, lot 33503. The plate coin for the variety in the 1993 reference <em>Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia, Volume One</em>, by Q. David Bowers.
