1800 $1 BB-186 MS(PCGS#40072)

Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

2120

Grade

AU53

Price

17,080

Lot Description

BB Die State III. Visible die flaws at the letters ES in STATES confirm the reverse die, which was employed for the BB-184, BB-185, and BB-187 varieties as well. The obverse is unique to BB-186, in which pairing it sustained heavy cracks that ended the useful life of the die. A bold crack from the upper border runs between the letters IB in LIBERTY into the hair, while an equally impressive crack branches through the digits 18 in the date and travels in an arc through the 1, through the bust, and terminates at star 12. Additional cracks exist at star 1 to the ribbon, and at the points of stars 10 to 12, with a row of impressed denticles along the border outside stars 11 and 12. The advanced cracks have caused the obverse die to sink in the area of the ribbon ends behind's Liberty's head, which are soft to indistinct; this softness also involves the opposite feature on the reverse, namely the eagle's right wing below the scroll. More minor softness is noted at the end of Liberty's bust and the junction of the final cloud and the eagle's left wing.<p>This is a premium AU example, lightly circulated overall, but still appreciably lustrous. Deep olive-copper and pewter gray toning blankets both sides and provides an attractively original appearance.