1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. BB-51, B-14. Rarity-2. EF-45 (PCGS). CAC--Gold Label. OGH.This piece represents a coalescence of immense desirability, appealing to both type collectors and advanced early dollar specialists. The surfaces are undoubtedly Choice, appearing almost prooflike under a light source and exhibiting copious satiny luster. Liberty is sharply defined on the obverse, showing sharp hair and profile detail and just the lightest friction across the high points. The eagles breast is slight soft, as is typical, though the feathers and wreath are intricate and frosty. A planchet flaw near star 11 goes largely unnoticed, accompanied by fainter inconsistencies in the metal of the left field. Still, the complexion is smooth and without distractions of any sort, displaying immensely strong eye appeal and pearlescent lilac-gold coloration throughout. It is the only 1795 Draped Bust dollar of any variety to have been awarded a Gold sticker by CAC, emphasizing the truly superior merits of this jewel. While the Gold sticker indicates that it would still be considered premium at the AU-50 level, the coin certainly speaks for itself regardless of the holder that it is in. In fact, the Old Green PCGS holder notes the coin number as 6858, which more recently has been specified to designate only the Centered Bust varieties, while coin number 96858 is now used to designated Off-Center Bust examples like the present piece. <p>Two different die combinations were used for the 1795 Draped Bust dollar. The die pair believed to have been struck first is the so-called Off-Center Bust variety, BB-51, which features Liberty appearing too far to the left from the center, a position used only on this die pair. This positioning was corrected to a more aesthetically pleasing centered location on the second variety, the BB-52 pair. The precise number struck and timing of each variety is unclear. Mint records from the time are not as thorough as scholars would like and much of what can be determined is conjecture. The commonly cited mintage figure of 42,738 is believed to be only a portion of the overall total for the 1795 Draped Bust dollar. Bowers posits that somewhere in the vicinity of 100,000 coins were produced of both BB-51 and BB-52 and that while the first deliveries likely took place in October, the later deliveries could have extended into 1796. In fact, the reverse die used for BB-52 was used as late as 1798, lending credence to this being the later of the two varieties. BB-51 is the more plentiful of the two die marriages of this issue, and Bowers suggests that 1,400 to 2,000 coins are extant in all grades. With the typical survivor grading VF, however, even EF and AU coins are scarce in an absolute sense, and rare relative to the demand for them in todays numismatic hobby. From the Collection of Thaddeus A. Tatum III. Earlier ex Heritages sale of the Hamilton Collection, August 2016, lot 4162.
