1797 Silver Dollar - 1797 Early $1, Large Letters, 9x7 Stars, PCGS XF40. This eye-appealing, lightly toned 1797 Silver Dollar shows full lines of drapery in Libertys bust. Her hair is well outlined and has enough detail to warrant a grade higher. The surfaces, which are extremely clean for the grade, show no visible abrasion marks or other distractions. Their slivery mauve and tan shades prove the coins authenticity. Traces of original mint luster peaks out from within its devices.
 
The BB-73 is identified by the obverse with 16 stars. Nine stars are to the left and seven are to the right. There are heavy die file lines in front of Libertys neck, most of which slant down to the right. This obverse die was also used to strike BB-72. The reverse uses Large Letters. There are 8 berries in the left branch of the wreath. The lowest berry is near the ribbon bow on the inside of the wreath.  A leaf ends under the center of the upright of the E in STATES, and a leaf points to the left corner of the I in UNITED. Another leaf points to the left corner of the first T in STATES. All of the As in the legend show a defect in their upper left corner. This reverse die was also used to strike the 1798 BB-82.

The Draped Bust, Heraldic Eagle silver dollar was made from 1798 to 1804. The design shows a draped bust of Liberty in profile facing right. Above is LIBERTY, and below is the date. Seven six-pointed stars are to the left and six are to the right. The portrait on the obverse, taken from a drawing by the famous artist Gilbert Stuart, is of Ann Bingham. John Eckstein translated this drawing to models for Engraver Robert Scot. Evidently Eckstein made the models poorly, which might explain why Stuarts family refused to acknowledge his role in the coinage design. The heraldic eagle reverse shows the eagle with up stretched wings and a Union shield on its breast. A banner inscribed E PLURIBUS UNUM curls across the left wing and under the right. Except for the wing tips, the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc near the periphery. Thirteen stars are above the eagles head under the clouds. 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.

In what some have called colossal design blunder, Robert Scot placed the arrows in the wrong talon. On the left side, the eagles right talon, arrows symbolize aggressive militarism. They should have been placed in the left talon with the olive branch in the right. If this rearrangement was unintentional, it shows a new, inexperienced country that cant even get its symbolism correct. If this was a deliberate rearrangement, it shows a young country taking an aggressive stance during a time of conflict. In 1799 the country was engaged with France in an undeclared naval war. Perhaps this symbolism was being used to make a statement to France and others about the sovereignty of the United States.

Scot was born in 1744 in Edinburgh, Scotland or England. (Documentary evidence is lacking as to where he was born.)  He was trained as a watchmaker in England and learned engraving afterwards. He moved to the United States in 1777, where he worked as an engraver of plates, bills of exchange, and office scales. During the Revolution, he was an engraver of paper money. In 1780 he was made the State Engraver of Virginia. He moved to Philadelphia the next year. He was appointed Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793 by David Rittenhouse, Mint Director. Scots ability to make dies was limited, and in his advanced years he had failing eyesight. His work was somewhat less than that done in Europe at the time, and Scot was criticized for its poor quality. He was responsible for designs of most of Americas first coins.

The early Mint in Philadelphia had many challenges. Conditions were poor even at times chaotic. Each of the specialists, the designers, engravers, and press operators were men who had previously worked in other fields. Coin manufacturing was a new trade for them. Production was sporadic. For the new Mint to coin each of the mandated denominations, it took four years. This delay was partly because of inexperience and governmental obstacles. Bonds that were unrealistically high were impediments to engravers working with precious metals. Congress was not united on the need for a government mint since private and foreign coinage seemed to work. Because of the non-existent or low production numbers in the early years of the Mint, foreign copper, silver and gold circulated along with American made coins for many years until they were later demonetized.

In its population report, PCGS shows that it has certified 59 1797 BB-73 silver dollars at the XF40 grade level.