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Issue RecordKEY DATEPhiladelphia89.24% Silver1 of 39 issues
1796 Draped Bust, Small Eagle Half Dollar
1796 and 1797 together are a delivery of 3,918 coins, and the registry read literally says there were no half dollars of 1796 at all. Two obverses, fifteen stars and sixteen: PCGS estimates 75 known of the 15 Stars at R-8.2 and 40 of the 16 Stars at R-8.7, the latter with an auction record of $822,500. Two of them were in the Economite hoard and were paid out at face value before anyone realised what they were.
1796 · Draped Bust, Small Eagle Half DollarAMERICAN NUMISMATIC SOCIETY · PUBLIC DOMAIN MARK / NO COPYRIGHT – UNITED STATES, STATED PER OBJECT IN THE RECORD'S OWN MACHINE-READABLE RIGHTS STATEMENT
02
The numbers, and what kind of numbers they are
Every figure carries its evidence class. Press a class to open the record behind it — what it rests on, by what method, and what the series says you should not conclude from it.
RECORDED DELIVERY
—
The Mint recorded what the Chief Coiner DELIVERED in a calendar year, not what it struck bearing a date. Where the registry combines years, the split is a reconstruction and the class says so.
DATED ATTRIBUTION
934
What the trade assigns to coins bearing this date. A modern allocation by an outside authority, not a federal record.
ESTIMATED SURVIVORS
—
An estimate of how many still exist in any grade, not a count of coins anyone has seen. Thirteen of this series' thirty-nine issues carry no census at all and show none.
DIE MARRIAGES
15
How many obverse/reverse die pairings are catalogued for this issue. A marriage is a distinct pair of hand-cut dies, which is what makes these coins collectable by variety rather than by date alone.
Provenance · RECORDED DELIVERY
FIGURENo figure — see below
CLASSOBSERVED — read directly from the document
LOCATORp.15
METHODThe registry's row runs 29 November 1796 to December 1797 and gives one combined figure of 3,918. Read literally it says there were no half dollars of 1796 at all. The trade splits the 3,918 as 934 and 2,984, and the two sum exactly to the record. PCGS publishes no plain-date survival estimate: the 15 Stars is 75 / 5 / 0 at R-8.2 and the 16 Stars 40 / 2 / 1 at R-8.7.
CAVEATThe Mint recorded what the Chief Coiner DELIVERED in a calendar year, not what it struck bearing a date. Where the registry combines years, the split is a reconstruction and the class says so.
Provenance · DATED ATTRIBUTION
FIGURE934
CLASSESTIMATED — a third party's estimate, attributed
SOURCEPCGS CoinFacts ↗
ATTRIBUTED TOPCGS CoinFacts
METHODThe registry's row runs 29 November 1796 to December 1797 and gives one combined figure of 3,918. Read literally it says there were no half dollars of 1796 at all. The trade splits the 3,918 as 934 and 2,984, and the two sum exactly to the record. PCGS publishes no plain-date survival estimate: the 15 Stars is 75 / 5 / 0 at R-8.2 and the 16 Stars 40 / 2 / 1 at R-8.7.
CAVEATWhat the trade assigns to coins bearing this date. A modern allocation by an outside authority, not a federal record.
Provenance · ESTIMATED SURVIVORS
FIGURENo figure — see below
CLASSSPECULATIVE — proposed, not established
SOURCE—
METHODThe registry's row runs 29 November 1796 to December 1797 and gives one combined figure of 3,918. Read literally it says there were no half dollars of 1796 at all. The trade splits the 3,918 as 934 and 2,984, and the two sum exactly to the record. PCGS publishes no plain-date survival estimate: the 15 Stars is 75 / 5 / 0 at R-8.2 and the 16 Stars 40 / 2 / 1 at R-8.7.
CAVEATAn estimate of how many still exist in any grade, not a count of coins anyone has seen. Thirteen of this series' thirty-nine issues carry no census at all and show none.
Provenance · DIE MARRIAGES
FIGURE15
CLASSOBSERVED — read directly from the document
SOURCEEarly Half Dollar Die Varieties 1794–1836 (1967; rev. 1970; 3rd ed. Parsley 1990; 4th ed. 2005; 5th ed. 2014)
METHODStars and 16 Stars obverses
CAVEATHow many obverse/reverse die pairings are catalogued for this issue. A marriage is a distinct pair of hand-cut dies, which is what makes these coins collectable by variety rather than by date alone.
03
Specifications
SpecificationValue
DENOMINATIONHalf Dollar
DESIGNERRobert Scot (Flowing Hair and Heraldic Eagle) · Robert Scot with John Eckstein (Draped Bust) · John Reich (Capped Bust)
COMPOSITION89.24% silver, 10.76% copper — 185⅝ grains of pure silver in 208 grains of standard silver
WEIGHT13.48 g
SILVER CONTENT0.38672 ozt
DIAMETERNot fixed by statute. The Act of April 2, 1792 specifies weight and fineness and says nothing about diameter; surviving coins run to roughly 32–33 mm.
EDGELettered — FIFTY CENTS OR HALF A DOLLAR
MINTPhiladelphia only — no branch mint existed until 1838
MINT MARKNone. No early half dollar carries a mint mark.
DIE MARRIAGES15 Stars and 16 Stars obverses
04
The primary record
Every document behind the figures above. Where OunceDesk holds a copy, the row opens it.
Report of the Director of the Mint for calendar 1805
Held in the Archive · behind recorded delivery
Held in the Archive · behind recorded delivery
PCGS CoinFacts
External authority — not held by OunceDesk · behind dated attribution
External authority — not held by OunceDesk · behind dated attribution
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