1796 Draped Bust Half Dollar. Small Eagle. O-102, T-2. Rarity-5+. 16 Stars. VG Details--Repaired (PCGS). Half dollar rarities from Stacks Bowers Galleries continue to amaze as we offer a 16 Stars 1796 Small Eagle. A more affordable alternative for the budget conscious collector, this piece exhibits evidence of smoothing and/or cleaning beneath an overlay of deep, even, steely-charcoal retoning. Both sides do deliver bold outline detail to virtually all design elements, however, allowing for full appreciation of this classic early U.S. Mint design. There are also few individually distracting marks, the in hand appearance pleasingly smooth for the assigned grade. Tompkins Die Stage 5/1.<p>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 not listed in the Amato census of 2012. PCGS# 6058. NGC ID: 24EA.
