1799 $1 MS(PCGS#6878)

June 2026 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2159

Grade

AU58

Price

10,980

Lot Description

BB Die State III, early, with no trace of the obverse crack that eventually extends from the border into the field between star 13 and the end of Liberty's bust. This is a desirable high grade Bust dollar for the type collector who seeks to avoid the challenges and requirements associated with securing a Mint State example. Minimally circulated and retaining razor sharp to full detail in most areas, no design elements are less than boldly struck. Lightly toned in pale sandy-silver and champagne-gold, the surfaces glow with frosty mint luster that yields to modest semi-reflectivity in the fields. Wispy handling marks are consistent with the assigned grade, none of which are distracting at most viewing angles.<p>In today's numismatic marketplace there are very few coins that will catch a collector's eye the way a stunning Choice AU Draped Bust dollar does, and it makes little difference what the date reads. The typically seen Draped Bust dollar is apt to be anywhere from VG to VF, at which levels most varieties tend to be readily available. Pleasing EF and lower end AU examples of the type, while not rare in the purest sense, can still be considered elusive, and the demand for those grades is strong. Once the threshold of Mint State is reached, at the Choice AU level, rarity is factored in regardless of the date or variety, and finding an attractive AU-58 or AU-58+ Draped Bust dollar is a challenge not to be taken lightly.<p>BB-160 is one of the most plentiful die marriages of the 1799-dated issue, although it is still scarcer than BB-163 and BB-166. Conditionally rare at the AU-58 level of preservation, this significant coin is sure to see spirited bidding among astute collectors.