1796 Draped Bust Quarter. B-2. Rarity-3. Good-4 (PCGS).Offered is a desirable circulated survivor of this historic and key date issue in the early quarter series. The surfaces are pleasingly original in preservation with warm, even toning in golden-gray. A blush of russet in the date area provides extra relief to the digits 796. Wear is commensurate with the assigned grade, some of the peripheral features lost to circulation, but all obverse stars are at least partially discernible, the word LIBERTY is (barely) legible, and the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is partially so. Libertys portrait and the eagle are well outlined, and the date is bold. Accuracy compels us to mention a faint obverse pin scratch slanting up from Libertys nose, but otherwise the surfaces are smooth with no blemishes of note. A pleasing coin that will surely find a place of honor in an advanced cabinet.<p>The 1796 quarter has long been an object of desire for all who form type sets of American coinage. Struck only in this single year, the Draped Bust obverse in combination with the Small Eagle reverse is very rare relative to the demand for it, as no type set can be complete without an example. Survivors are scarce as the mintage was just 6,146 pieces. The Mint required two obverse dies and one reverse to achieve this mintage, with Browning-2, as offered here, the more frequently encountered by a small margin. This is the High 6 variety of the issue, so named because the digit 6 in the date is closer to the bust than on the B-1 Low 6 variety.PCGS# 5310. NGC ID: 23RA.From the Collection of James Allaire Millholland, 1842-1911.
