United States: 1799 silver Draped Bust dollar

Discussion in 'US Coins Forum' started by lordmarcovan, Jan 28, 2026 at 3:15 AM.

  1. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic numismatist Moderator

    United States: 1799 silver Draped Bust dollar

    NGC VF30. Cert. #1886300-001.

    Numista-23359, Krause-Mishler-32, Bowers-Borckardt-162.

    Mintage: 423,515.

    Ex-Stacks Bowers Galleries Spring 2023 Auction, Lot 6582, 23 March 2023. Purchased in the slab.

    The Stacks Bowers auction lot description:

    "A boldly toned example with underlying cobalt blue and reddish-gold to dominant charcoal-gray. The in hand appearance is uncommonly smooth for the assigned grade, if a tad glossy in texture. One of perhaps just 300 to 500 survivors from this die pairing (per Bowers, 2013), and a desirable coin for a circulated type set. BB Die State III-IV (intermediate die state)."

    This lovely early United States dollar is of the Heraldic Eagle reverse type struck from 1798 to 1804. Coins of this type dated 1804 are one of the most famous US rarities, though the ones bearing that date were actually restrikes struck decades later.

    For my Draped Bust dollar type coin, I wanted a date from the 1700s. I was also after a coin with exactly this sort of "Circulation Cameo" toning. I paid a lofty premium for this piece- way beyond published price guide values- but I had to, in order to beat the competition for it in the auction. I'm seldom so cavalier about "overpaying" for a coin, and I'm likely "underwater" in this one for a long time to come, but I suppose that doesn't matter so much. I'm glad to have it, and it is my favorite US coin in my collection.

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    386750
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2026 at 7:26 AM
    lordmarcovan, Jan 28, 2026 at 3:15 AM
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    Tall Paul, Anthony Mazza, The Meat man and 8 others like this.
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  3. Dafydd

    Dafydd Supporter! Supporter

    Spoken like a true collector @lordmarcovan. That is one magnificent coin oozing with history who knows what it bought in the past and where it has been? It's not all about being sensible sometimes and calculating profit or loss. If profit and loss were the motivation for collecting we would all be sharing images of Bullion bars and Krugerrands and wouldn't that wear out interest quickly?
    I was underbidder at Heritage this week for a coin that I have been chasing for years and in hindsight, the only precise science, I should not have bid on two other coins but pooled my resources and focused on a single target as you did with this coin. Of course the buyer might have had endless pockets but it was not that type of coin that attracts status bidding as I refer to some situations, it was a heavily circulated coin.
    Thank you for sharing such a great coin with us and your success. If you want to hold on to it, being "underwater" doesn't matter.
     
    Dafydd, Jan 28, 2026 at 4:57 AM
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    Tall Paul, masterswimmer, longnine009 and 1 other person like this.
  4. fretboard

    fretboard Defender of Old Coinage!

    This one takes the cake, beautiful coin! :D
     
    fretboard, Jan 28, 2026 at 5:11 AM
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  5. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic numismatist Moderator

    True.
    True again. I intend to hold this one for the long term; maybe even (who knows?) for the rest of my days. Maybe my estate will lose money on the investment, but I won't be around to care about that.

    The current NGC priceguide value is “only” $2,550.00 as I type this (January 2026).

    If you looked at the Stacks Bowers archive link, you'll see I paid $3,867.50 for it after fees, in March of 2023. That's a premium of more than $1,300.00 over the NGC value! (And 1300 bucks is a LOT of money for me!) :nailbiting:

    But I now note that the current PCGS value is $4,250.00, so maybe I'm not that far "underwater" after all!
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2026 at 8:13 AM
    lordmarcovan, Jan 28, 2026 at 5:36 AM
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  6. The Meat man

    The Meat man Supporter! Supporter

    Beautiful coin!
     
    The Meat man, Jan 28, 2026 at 7:39 AM
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  7. lordmarcovan

    lordmarcovan Eclectic numismatist Moderator

    For $3,867.50, it had better be, right? ;)

    Thanks.
     
    lordmarcovan, Jan 28, 2026 at 8:11 AM
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