1797 Draped Bust Dime. JR-2. Rarity-4. 13 Stars. VG-10 (PCGS). A generally slate-gray example with wisps of olive-copper iridescence toward the lower obverse border. Close inspection with a loupe reveals microscopic roughness to the texture and faint handling marks, but there are no sizeable blemishes, which explains the pleasingly smooth appearance of the surfaces in hand. With all major design elements fully outlined, and quite boldly so, this is an appealing example of a challenging early dime die pairing. By a slight margin, JR-2 is considered the scarcer of the two varieties of the 1797 dime. The JR-1 variety marked the end of the policy of adding a star to the obverse for every state in the Union, as the addition of Tennessee in 1796 had made the obverses of the silver and gold coins appear entirely too crowded. This variety is the first of the new design, featuring 13 stars, an aspect that would remain constant for more than a century.
