1796 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. BB-61, B-4. Rarity-3. Small Date, Large Letters. Unc Details--Artificial Toning (NGC).This is an endearing coin with rather attractive toning in iridescent golden-rose, silver-gray and steel blue that is more vivid on the obverse. The reverse, in fact, is nearly brilliant and displays only light silver-gray overtones. Satiny mint luster is full throughout, both sides also modestly semi-reflective in the fields. The strike is nicely centered and well executed, the borders fully denticulated and most design elements sharply to fully defined. Only in the center of the reverse do we see mentionable lack of detail, and it is minor and confined to the eagles breast and left leg. On the other hand, the eagles head is full with a clear eye, and all leaves in the surrounding branches are crisp. Crisp early die state, corresponding to BB Die State II, which is the usually seen die state for this variety. Bowers-Borckardt 61 is the most readily obtainable of the six known die marriages of the 1796 Draped Bust dollar, and it is also one of two that corresponds to the Small Date, Large Letters <em>Guide Book</em> variety (the other is the exceedingly rare BB-64). The Small Eagle design as a type is scarce, however, and high grade examples such as this are rare in an absolute sense and very rare from a market availability standpoint. The present example was once a key component of the famous Type Collection assembled by Norman Stack, and it is included in the list of "Notable Specimens" for the BB-61 variety in the 2013 edition of Q. David Bowers <em>Encyclopedia of United States Silver Dollars: 1794-1804</em>. Far more desirable than the NGC-certified grade might suggest, both aesthetically and numismatically, this coin is sure to sell for a strong bid.From the John Whitney Walter Collection. Earlier ex Norman Stack Type Collection; our (Stacks) sale of the John Whitney Walter Collection of the Coins of 1796, May 1999, lot 1782; our (Stacks) 70th Anniversary Sale, October 2005, lot 1403. Pictured in the famous book <em>United States Type Coins</em> by Norman Stack.
