Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
1796 Silver Dollars
Mintage (all types)
Calendar year, Mint report: 72,920
Coins bearing date, author's estimate: 75,000
Coinage Context
Problems of 1796: The estimated mintage of 75,000 1796-dated dollars (of various die varieties combined, each of the Draped Bust type) is less than that of the estimated mintage of 110,000 Draped Bust dollars coined with the date 1795. The estimated mintage of 75,000 is not far different from the official calendar year figure of 79,920.
My estimate of 75,000 1796-dated dollars does not suggest when these dollars were struck. It may have been the case, indeed likely, that many if not most 1796-dated pieces were struck later, in 1798. Much of the calendar year mintage of 75,212 dollars struck in 1796 were probably dated 1795. I believe that mintage during the first part of calendar year 1798 consisted in large part of dollars dated 1795, 1796, and 1797.
The Mint experienced various difficulties in 1796, including a yellow fever epidemic. Coinage was anything but easy.
On June 1, 1796, Tennessee was admitted to the Union as the 16th state. While other denominations reflected this, 16 stars were not used on silver dollars until 1797, which suggests that obverse dies for 1796-dated dollars were made prior to June.
Number of dies used: The number of dies employed to create 1796-dated dollars is as follows:
1796 obverses, 4
1796 reverses, 4 (includes one left over from 1795)
Die use averages: By dividing the number of ob-verse dies and the number of reverse dies each with the estimated mintage figure of 75,212 coins dated 1796, estimates of the average number of impressions per die can be obtained. In practice, some dies lasted a long time and others broke quickly; the figures here are averages, as noted;
Four 1796 obverses divided into an estimated mintage of 1796-dated dollars of 75,212 = 18,803 coins per obverse die.
Four 1796 reverses divided into an estimated mintage of 1796-dated dollars of 75,212 = 18,803 coins per reverse die (the inclusion of the Small Letters die used earlier in 1795 and used later for coinage dated 1797 and 1798 distorts this figure).
Numismatic Information
Collecting 1796 dollars: The dollars of 1796 are a little world unto themselves. There are but six va-rieties, four of which are readily available, and two that are exceedingly rare. Right now in the market-place, only a few people in the numismatic world know that 1796 BB-62 (so rare that its very existence is controversial to some) and the 1796 BB-64 (of which just two are known) are among the most elusive die varieties of this era.
Known varieties: Dollars of 1796 ate of two main obverse styles, Large Date (BB-65 only) and Small Date (BB-61 to BB-64 and BB-66), and two reverse styles, Large Letters (BB-61 and BB-64) and Small Letters (BB-62, BB-63, BB-65, and BB-66). In all instances, the 6 in the date was made by inverting the 9 punch.
Traditionally, the varieties of 1796 have been collected as follows:
1796 Small Date, Large Letters (BB-61 and BB-64).
1796 Small Date, Small Letters (BB-62, BB-63, and BB-66)
1796 Large Date, Small Letters (BB-65)
Of course, the purist and die variety collector will aspire to obtain all six die varieties, not just the three "major varieties" delineated above.
Dollars of this year are quite easy to attribute, and with the Easy-Finding Guide, you should have no trouble instantly identifying a 1796 die variety, even with one eye closed and one hand behind your back.
Grade possibilities. Although many hundreds, if not a thousand or more Mint State 1796 cents exist (thanks to the Goodhue-Nichols hoard), and many dozens of prooflike Uncirculated 1796 quarters are known, Mint State dollars are few and far between. Apparently, few if any were saved as souvenirs or represented in hoards.
For a 1796 silver dollar, Very Fine is about par for a "nice" coin, although occasionally Extremely Fine and Almost Uncirculated pieces are encountered. Mint State coins, graded by today's stringent interpretations, are sufficiently rare as to be virtually of legendary status.
Obverse dies, a chronology: There were four obverse dies made with the 1796 date. Three of these are of the so-called Small Date style, and one (BB-65) is of the Large Date. As the Large Date more closely resembles the numerals used on 1797 dollars, I assign this as the last die made.