1796 Draped Bust Quarter. B-1. Rarity-4+. VG Details--Repaired (PCGS).A pleasing coin for the assigned grade, both sides are well centered in strike with otherwise full, broad denticulation that softens only along the upper left reverse. The major design elements are boldly outlined and fully appreciable, the more protected areas of Libertys portrait and the eagle retaining some sharper definition. The surfaces exhibit a curious blend of glossy and matte-like characteristics that help to explain the PCGS qualifier, although there are no sizeable handling marks to report. Pleasantly retoned in golden-russet, there is much to recommend this coin to the budget minded collector.<p>This is one of 6,146 examples of the date struck in the first year of the denomination, and the only year of the Draped Bust, Small Eagle design type; no quarter dollars were forthcoming from the Mint again until 1804, in which year the Heraldic Eagle reverse was used to conform to the other circulating silver coins of the era. Eagerly sought at all levels of preservation, this is a desirable 1796 quarter at the lower reaches of the numismatic grading scale that will appeal not only to series specialists, but also advanced type collectors -- after all, a type set of U.S. coinage is not complete without a 1796 Draped Bust, Small Eagle quarter.<p>Browning-1 is the scarcer of the two known die marriages of this issue. Both varieties share the same reverse, but on B-1 the digit 6 in the date is low and distant from the base of Libertys bust.From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection.
