1799 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. BB-160, B-12a. Rarity-3. MS-62 (PCGS).This is a wonderfully original, richly toned coin that would do equally well in a Mint State type set or advanced collection of early dollars. Both sides exhibit dominant pearl gray patina, the obverse with a crescent of blue-gray along the left border and both sides with glints of lighter antique silver tinting here and there around the peripheries. Well centered in strike and suitably bold for a product of the fledgling United States Mint, the detail throughout Libertys portrait is particularly sharp. BB Die State III.In todays numismatic marketplace there are very few coins that will catch a collectors eye the way a stunning Mint State Draped Bust dollar does, and it makes little difference what the date reads. The typically seen Draped Bust dollar is apt to be anywhere from VG to VF, at which levels most varieties tend to be readily available. Pleasing EF and AU examples of the type, while not rare in the purest sense, can still be considered elusive, and the demand for those grades is strong. Once the Mint State level is obtained, rarity is factored in regardless of the date or variety, and finding even an MS-60 or MS-61 Draped Bust dollar is a challenge not to be taken lightly.BB-160 is one of the most plentiful die marriages of the 1799-dated issue, although it is still scarcer than BB-163 and BB-166. Conditionally rare at the MS-62 level of preservation, this lovely and significant coin is sure to see spirited bidding among astute collectors.
