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

Summer 2026 Global Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Auctioneer

Stack's Bowers

Lot Number

3136

Grade

XF45

Price

9,150

Lot Description

BB Die State I, Salyards Die State IIa. Frosty to semi-reflective surfaces exhibit delicate pinkish-silver toning on the reverse, the obverse untoned apart from a crescent of steely-rose iridescence along the upper right border. 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, as offered here.