1798 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. Small Eagle. BB-81, B-2. Rarity-3. 15 Stars on Obverse. AU-50 (PCGS). OGH.The dominate lavender-grey patina of this Small Eagle dollar is adorned with touches of gold and peach across the high points and at the borders. Considerable mint luster remains in the protected areas, surrounding the devices with a frosty brilliance. Liberty is intricately sculpted and lifelike on the obverse, with detailed hair and profile features free from any distracting abrasions. The fields are similarly smooth and without blemishes, leaving just a thin planchet flaw near D of UNITED as a convenient pedigree marker. Notably bold denticles point to truly choice preservation for the assigned grade, nearly approaching the Condition Census of the variety. <p>The BB-81 variety is one of just two Small Eagle varieties for 1798, representing the last issue of the type. The reverse die showed impressive stamina in the hands of the Mint workers, having been paired with six different obverses throughout employments in 1795, 1796, 1797, and, finally, 1798. We first handled this particular example over 10 years ago as part of our (Stacks) sale of the Samuel Berngard and S.S. New York Collections in July of 2008. Offered in lot 4539 we called it "a sharp and appealing example of this moderately scarce variety...truly exceptional for the grade and date combination." From the Collection of Thaddeus A. Tatum III. Earlier ex our (Stacks) sale of the Samuel Berngard and S.S. New York Collections, July 2008, lot 4539; our (Stacks) sale of the Entlich, White Oak, Gross & St. Andre Collections, March 2009, lot 5298; Freedom Collection; our August 2013 Chicago ANA Auction, lot 4325.
