1796 Draped Bust Half Dollar. Small Eagle. O-102, T-2. Rarity-5+. 16 Stars. Fine Details--Cleaned (PCGS).Half dollar rarities from the E. Horatio Morgan Collection continue to amaze as we offer a 16 Stars 1796 Small Eagle to follow the 15 Stars example offered above. The strike is nicely centered, and both sides display full, uniform denticulation that is soft from 2 to 7 oclock on the reverse due to wear. Indeed, the definition in general softens toward the lower right reverse border, the wear on that side a bit uneven, although all major design elements are fully outlined and readily appreciable. Definition on the obverse is more uniform for the assigned grade, the border denticulation quite crisp and all design elements boldly outlined. Some sharper detail is evident within the recesses of Libertys portrait. Light hairlining and a touch of glossiness to the texture explain the PCGS qualifier, although both are retoning nicely in light silver, olive and champagne-gold. A speck of foreign matter has been slabbed with the coin and overlays the reverse field below the eagles left wing. It is accompanied by a swirl of light PVC residue that we mention for accuracy. Tompkins Die Stage 2/1.Although composed of coins dated 1796 and 1797, the Draped Bust, Small Eagle half dollar series was issued for just one year. Only 3,918 examples were delivered in four warrants from February 28 to May 26, 1797. Today, probably no more than 250 to 300 half dollars of this challenging design type can be accounted for, signifying a survival rate of less than 10%. Subsequent to 1797 no half dollars were minted until 1801, at which time the Heraldic Eagle design was adopted for the reverse. The 1796 O-102 16 Stars variety is the scarcest in this series with most survivors well worn, as here. Of course, the brevity and scarcity of this design type assures that all examples of this die marriage are eagerly sought by type collectors as well as early half dollar specialists. The present example is listed in the Amato census of 2012, coin serial number 238.PCGS# 6058. NGC ID: 24EA.From the E. Horatio Morgan Collection. Earlier ex Henry Chapmans sale of the John Story Jenks Collection, December 1921, lot 5913; our (Stacks) sale of December 1987, Part I, lot 537.
