JR-6, R-3. Typical die state with obverse and reverse cracks as often seen.

The 1796 is the very first Dime struck by the United States. Like its other silver counterparts, it is a coin that is held in awe by most collectors and it has strong multiple levels of demand. I, for one, still get a little tingle when I buy one and I have been in the coin business as a professional dealer since 1981. It is not really a “rare” coin AU but it is very hard to find with natural color and surfaces.

This is a lovely, original example which is housed in an older pre-barcode holder. It shows rich medium rose-grey color with splashes of lighter vivid orange-gold at intervals on the obverse and the reverse. Both sides retain some luster and show good detail with many of the central details clear to the naked eye. With light magnification, it is possible to see a few ultra-fine mint-made adjustment marks on the neck of Liberty and on the right side of the eagle’s body. That said, this piece has great eye appeal for the date and grade with just enough color to give it real character.

Heritage 4/12: 5059, graded AU53 by PCGS and approved by CAC, sold for $17,250. A total of four PCGS AU53′s have sold at auction since the beginning of 2006 and I almost never see 1796 Dimes in this grade range available for sale. I would estimate that there are three to four dozen 1796 Dimes known in AU50 to AU55 but fewer than a quarter of these are CAC-quality; if that much.

CAC has approved five in this grade with 24 finer.