1799 Draped Bust Dollar: An Approachable Date in a Scarce, Beloved Series

The Draped Bust Dollar has been a favorite series among collectors for generations, with both type collectors and early American dollar enthusiasts pursuing these large, heavy relics from the first decade of the U.S. Mint in droves. The term “early American dollar” generally refers to the United States silver dollars dated 1794 through 1804 and spans at least two types: the Flowing Hair Dollars (1794-1795) and the Draped Bust Dollars (1795-1804); the latter series is itself divided into two subtypes: the Small Eagle (1795-1798) and Large Eagle (1798-1804). All told, about 1.28 million examples were produced for all of the silver dollars counted among the “early” types. The most common among these are the Draped Bust Dollars struck from 1798 through 1800. The 1799 represents the high-water mark in mintage, with 423,515 produced.

The 1799 Draped Bust Dollar encompasses many varieties, with PCGS counting among them the 1799 $1 Irregular Date, 13 Stars, 1799 $1 Irregular Date, 15 Stars, 1799 $1 8x5 Stars, 1799/8 $1 15 Reverse Stars, and 1799/8 $1 13 Reverse Stars. Some are scarcer varieties than others, though by far the most common are the 1799 Draped Bust Dollar, with PCGS estimating 8,000 survivors across all grades, and the 1799/8 15 Reverse Stars, reported to have about 1,000 survivors. Summing up all individual estimated survival numbers for the coins, with a little over 10,000 strikes thought to survive over the grading spectrum. Though many scholars would address the 1799 Draped Bust Dollar as a “common” coin, its estimated number of survivors registering a bit north of 10,000 is not really a large number in the scheme of American numismatics – especially when considering a popular rarity, like the 1909-S VDB Lincoln Cent, has an estimated 50,000 survivors.

As series specialists know there are nearly two dozen different varieties of 1799 Draped Bust Dollars recognized by leading numismatic authorities. These and other Draped Bust Dollar varieties can be collected in challenging PCGS Registry Sets, such as the Early Dollars Die Variety Set with Silver Plugs By Bolender & Bowers/Borckardt, Circulation Strikes (1794-1803). As exciting as it may be to build a set as comprehensive as that one, few collectors have the time or money to complete such a set and often embark on collecting Draped Bust Dollars a different way, like building Early Dollars Basic Set, Circulation Strikes (1794-1803).

Many collectors will choose another exhilarating option: Basic U.S. Coin Design Set No Gold (1792-Present), which requires just one “Early Dollar” (either the Flowing Hair Dollar or Draped Bust Dollar). In many instances, collectors will fill such a hole with a 1799 Draped Bust Dollar given its relative affordability (“relative,” in that even in G4 the 1799 Draped Bust Dollar is over $1,000) and the fact that it's among the most readily available Draped Bust Dollars in the general marketplace.