1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar, BB-52, B-15, PCGS VF20 CAC. Originality and even toning characterized this early 1795 Draped Bust Silver Dollar. Shades of tan, grey, russet, gold, and green are seen with lighter devices and darker fields near the rims. The lines of the drapery around the bust show only slight wear half way around in keeping with the VF20 grade that is confirmed by CAC. There are also a couple of old, small reverse scratches that are mentioned for the sake of accuracy. Similarly there are die clash marks on both sides, but these do not detract from the grade.

The Draped Bust dollar obverse was designed by Robert Scot based on a drawing by the noted artist Gilbert Stuart of Mrs. William Bingham. John Eckstein translated this drawing to models for Engraver Robert Scot. Evidently Eckstein lost many of the nuances, which might explain why Stuarts family would not acknowledge his role in the coinage design. The young country wanted to elevate its coinage designs to compete with Europes finest. The earlier Flowing Hair Liberty was changed to a more matronly effigy. It shows Liberty with her hair tied with a ribbon. The word LIBERTY is above and the date is below. Eight stars are to the left and seven to the right.

Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin. The edge is lettered HUNDRED CENTS ONE DOLLAR OR UNIT with ornamentation between the words. The reverse shows a small, unrealistic eagle poised to fly standing on a rock. Around the eagle is a wreath of laurel on the left and palm on the right. A ribbon ties the ends of the wreath together. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircles the design.

There were two varieties of the 1795 Draped bust dollar. One has the obverse device punched too far to the left. The other is centered but has elongated pieces in Libertys hair which result from pieces of the die that probably fell out while it was being manufactured. The present coin is the latter variety. In its population report, CAC shows 3 at VF20 with 16 better.