1796 $1 Small Date, Large Letters MS(PCGS#6860)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2103

Grade

XF45

Price

15,000

Lot Description

BB Die State I. An uncommonly original and, hence, also uncommonly desirable Draped Bust, Small Eagle dollar at the eminently collectible Choice EF grade level. Warm pearl gray patina blankets both sides with more vivid reddish-russet and olive-blue iridescence engaging many of the design elements. Warm golden-apricot and powder blue undertones are also evident as the coin dips into a light - very attractive. The strike comes up a bit short in and around the central reverse, but this is of little concern in a lightly circulated dollar of this design type, especially since other areas retain plenty of bold to sharp definition. What few marks are present and small in size, buried in the toning, and singularly inconspicuous to the unaided eye. Your cataloger owns a 1795 BB-52 in PCGS/CAC EF-45 that is just as original and PQ as this 1796 BB-61. That coin, part of his personal collection, took more than a decade to source given high standards for originality, strike quality, and eye appeal. The BB-61 offered here is just as desirable to this numismatist's eyes, and also ranks among the very finest Draped Bust, Small Eagle dollars that one will encounter in certified EF-45. Our offering of this highlight of the early dollars in the Brookfield Collection represents a rare and fleeting bidding opportunity that astute collectors would be wise to pursue with the utmost intensity.<p>Bowers-Borckardt 61 is the only collectible variety that corresponds to the Small Date, Large Letters <em>Guide Book</em> variety of the 1796-dated silver dollar issue. (The BB-64 Small Date, Large Letters is a formidable rarity; Bowers knew of only three examples as of 2013.) It is also the most readily obtainable 1796-dated silver dollar die pairing with Harry E. Salyards (2022) accounting for 650 to 1,100 coins extant in all grades. The author opines that this variety was struck and delivered on multiple dates between March 30, 1796 and August 28, 1797. The substantial majority of examples grade VF or lower, often with significant surface problems. Consequently, the BB-61 is scarce to rare in grades of EF and finer, especially with the premium quality surfaces that define the presently offered example.