1798 $1 Draped Bust Silver Dollar, Small Eagle 13 Stars, BB-82 NGC XF45

Here’s a rarity to include in your collection. The year 1798 was the final one for production of the Small Eagle reverse design. The 1798 Small Eagle dollars are normally regarded as scarcer than those dated 1795 through 1797.

Writes David Bowers, “Of the two 1798 die varieties with Small Eagle reverse (BB-81 and BB-82), 1798 BB-82 is the more plentiful, but only by a slight margin. 1798 BB-82 is the only 1798-dated dollar with 13 obverse stars in combination with the Small Eagle reverse; all others are mated with the Heraldic Eagle reverse.”

NGC has graded a total of 32 of the 1798 Small Eagle, 13 Stars, BB-82 variety. Of those, there are five graded XF45 with 6 finer. Collectors Universe prices this variety at $25,000.00 in XF45.

Ann Willing Bingham at the age of 21, the alleged model for the Draped Bust coinage, as rendered by Gilbert Stuart in 1785. Image: Wikimedia Commons.

The Draped Bust Liberty design is iconic in American numismatics. The obverse was engraved by Robert Scot, chief U.S. Mint engraver. The same design was also displayed upon the fractional copper and silver coinage as well, but first appeared on the silver dollar.

Legend tells us that the appearance of Liberty was modeled upon a Philadelphia socialite, Ann Willing Bingham, from a drawing by artist Gilbert Stuart. This design change after only one year (from the Flowing Hair type) was the brain-child of Mint Director Henry DeSaussure (and probably with the encouragement of President Washington) in his desire to improve the appearance of all U.S. coinage. John Eckstein, an artist from Rhode Island, crafted a plaster model of Stuart's rendering, from which Scot prepared the dies.