By Doug Winter RareGoldCoins.com

Dually popular as a one-year type and a first-year-of-issue, the 1796 No Stars is among the most desirable early United States gold coins. It is actually less rare than its With Stars counterpart but it is traditionally valued more highly and is certainly held in greater esteem by most collectors. Its low mintage, unique design and numismatic significance combine to make it an issue that is considered a cornerstone of any collection of early United States gold coins.

STRIKE:

Virtually all known examples are weak at the centers. On the obverse, this weakness is seen on the ear, the hair above and below the ear and the curls surrounding the face. About half of the 1796 No Stars that I have seen are weak on the E in LIBERTY. Some have detail on the obverse border while others show little or no definition on the denticles in this area. The obverse generally appears weaker than the reverse. This is not so much a function of strike is it is the design of the coin. The openness of the No Stars obverse causes this side to wear easily. The reverse is often weak on both the top and the base of the eagle’s neck. On some, the tip of the tail is weak; on others it is sharper. The tip of the left wing is always flat and the entire left wing appears less detailed than that on the right. The right claw is usually weak as well. The reverse denticles are typically visible from around 7:00 to 2:00 and hard to see or invisible from 3:00 to 7:00.

SURFACES:

The surfaces often show numerous small marks in the fields but this issue tends to be a bit less abraded than the 1796 With Stars. Many have adjustment marks that range from light and unobtrusive to heavy and detracting.

LUSTER:

This issue has a very distinctive type of luster. It is typically frosty with a somewhat subdued appearance. The fields are usually semi-prooflike and this is in contrast to the frosty texture of the devices. Many 1796 No Stars quarter eagles have been cleaned and show impaired luster as a result. There are some higher grade pieces that have a majority of the luster present and the one Gem that is known has magnificent thick, frosty luster.

COLORATION:

The typical color for this issue is medium to deep yellow gold with a prominent olive undertone. A number show (or at least showed this before they were dipped) a nice coppery hue that was somewhat iridescent when tilted into a light source. As recently as a decade ago, it was possible to find a nice original Extremely Fine or About Uncirculated example with fully or nearly full original hues. Today, most of these have been processed or conserved and attractive 1796 No Stars quarter eagles with natural color are very rare.

EYE APPEAL:

The typical 1796 No Stars quarter eagle actually has better overall eye appeal than many of the other early dates of this denomination. At one point, there were enough nice middle grade pieces to satisfy most collectors. Now, many of these coins have been conserved and rest in third-party slabs where they are enthusiastically graded, to say the least. That said, it is still possible for the patient collector to locate a reasonably attractive example for his type set or date set.

DIE CHARACTERISTICS:

The left sides of the LI in LIBERTY are lightly recut. Most examples have a number of die cracks on the obverse with the most prominent located at the obverse rim around 9:00 extending crookedly into the field. On the reverse, there is an intermittent die engraver’s line from the top of the right wing through the tops of AMERI in AMERICA.

DIE VARIETIES:

There are two varieties known.

Variety 1 (BD-1): The arrows reach to the foot of the I in UNITED. This variety is extremely rare with just four to six pieces.

Variety 2 (BD-2): The arrows reach to the end of the N in UNITED. This is by far the more common of the two varieties.

RARITY:

Total Known: 90-110
By Grade:
Very Fine: 10-15
Extremely Fine: 42-45
About Uncirculated: 33-43
Uncirculated: 5-7

AUCTION RECORD:

The auction record for this issue was set by Heritage 1/08: 3058. This coin brought $1,725,000 which is the highest price ever paid at auction for any early United States gold coin. Higher prices have been paid, of course, via private treaty.

SIGNIFICANT PIECES:

There are an estimated five to seven known that qualify, in my opinion, as being truly Uncirculated. These include the following:

1. Private collection via John Albanese, ex Heritage 1/08: 3058 ($1,725,000), Madison Collection via Heritage Galleries, ANR 6/05: 1002 ($1,380,000), Midwestern collection, Stack’s 11/95: 1498 ($605,000), Lelan Rogers collection, Stack’s 5/64: 1660, Phillip Ward collection, University of Pennsylvania, R.C. Brock collection, NY Coin and Stamp 6/1890: 719, Lorin Parmelee collection. Graded MS65 by PCGS.

2. Pogue collection, ex Stack’s 5/99: 1787 ($276,000), John Whitney Walter collection, Bowers and Ruddy 3/80: 732 ($125,000), obtained via private treaty from Harold Newlin in 1884. MS62 to MS63.

3. Stack’s 7/08: 2324 ($488,750), ex ANR 7/04: 82 ($345,000), Oliver Jung collection via Midwestern dealer, James Swan collection. Graded MS62 by PCGS.

4. Heritage 8/06: 5417 ($322,000). Graded MS61 by PCGS.

5. Heritage 7/08: 1451 ($276,000), ex Ed Price collection. Graded MS61 by PCGS.

As of July 2009, PCGS has graded three in MS61, three in MS62 and one in MS65 for a total of seven in Uncirculated. NGC has graded two in MS60, five in MS61, three in MS62, one in MS63 and one in MS65 for a total of twelve in Uncirculated.

The 1796 No Stars is probably the best known and most desired early quarter eagle. It is not as rare as the With Stars issue but its status as a one-year type and a first-year-of-issue leave it in heavy demand. There are approximately 100 known in all grades with the typical piece being in the Extremely Fine-40 to About Uncirculated-50 range. Properly graded high end AU coins are quite rare and the 1796 No Stars is very rare in Uncirculated with fewer than ten known. There is one Gem known.

A Collecting Guide by Doug Winter

Photos and text used with permission and courtesy of Douglas Winter Numismatics

Description:

The Capped Bust, Heraldic Eagle type of 1795-1807 was replaced in 1807 due to the addition of John Reich as Assistant Engraver at the Mint. His new design was significantly different than the old Robert Scot coinage with a large capped bust facing to the left wearing a large, loose-fitting cap; the reverse replaced the old Heraldic eagle design with an upright eagle whose wings are spread outwards.

Reich’s Capped Draped Bust half eagles were produced from 1807 through 1812. Mintage figures for these coins tend to be comparably high and the survival rate is greater than for nearly any other early gold type. This means that collectors should be able to find a nice example with little difficulty, even in higher grades.

There are a number of different ways to collect this series. Type collectors seek a single nice example to represent this design. As a type collector, you should be able to select from a number of different dates as many of the half eagles produced from 1807 to 1812 are common enough to sell for no real date premium. Date collectors like this type because there are no major “stoppers” unlike in nearly all of the other early gold series. And die variety collectors will discover that Capped Draped Bust Half Eagles are a real challenge with a host of significant major and minor varieties known to exist.

Before we look at the series on a date-by-date basis, let’s discuss some basic collecting tenets about Capped Draped Bust Half eagles which, in truth, can be applied to all early gold coins.

1. If possible, try to buy an original piece with nice color and luster. Most Capped Draped Bust half eagles have been cleaned or processed at one time and show little remaining originality. But there are enough nice, original coins around that if the collector is patient and if he learns the hallmarks of originality, he should be able to purchase an outstanding coin for type purposes.

2. Many half eagles of this type show adjustment marks. These are not considered detracting and generally do not have an impact on a coin’s grade.

3. If you are looking at an unencapsulated example of this type, make certain to carefully check the rims and edges. Many early gold coins have been used in jewelry and show traces of having been mounted. Unless you really know what you are doing, I’d strongly suggest you stick with a PCGS or NGC graded early half eagle.

4. Enough of these coins typically trade hands at shows and at auctions that it is possible to have a better idea what they are worth than the rarer, less frequently traded types such as the Fat Head issues of the 1820’s and 1830’s. Greysheet Bid levels on early gold coins tend to be too low as prices on these coins are quickly moving up. If you are using auction records as a reference point, only check recent ones as those prior to 2007 are worthless at this point.

5. Strike is not generally a major factor in determining grade and value in this series but, that said, avoid an example that is very softly detailed at the centers.

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