1799 Early $1 (1799 Early Silver Dollar) 7x6 Stars, NGC MS62. BB-165. This rare, mint state early date 1799 Silver Dollar is tied for the second finest known. It has a sharply struck obverse and an above average reverse. The highest points of Libertys hair, the drapery, and the centers of the stars are all full. On the reverse the shield is fully struck. No wear is seen on the coin, as expected for the grade. The eye-appealing surfaces are clean and free of distractions with no adjustment marks. The coin is lustrous with old-time envelope toning that is darker towards the rims and lighter on the devices, which contributes to the coins premium quality look.

On the BB-165 variety, Libertys mouth is open. A die chip appears between star 9 and the border. Stars 10 and 11 are closer to each other than the others. The reverse shows a die crack through the second S in STATES.
The origin of the word dollar is from the German thaler. It was a large European silver coin that substituted for the gold florin in 1484. During the sixteenth century these coins became very popular in Europe. Other countries struck similar coins. With the discovery of large quantities of silver in Mexico and South America, the Spanish dollar was struck in great numbers. These pieces of eight circulated in the British American colonies.

On July 6, 1785, the dollar became the standard unit of the monetary system of the United States. The first of them, the Flowing Hair dollars of 1794-95, portrayed Liberty looking up and to the right with loose hair behind. The eagle on the reverse looked not much like an eagle. It was perched in a wreath with its head turned to the right. Later in 1795, while keeping the Small Eagle reverse, a new Draped Bust obverse coin was issued. This combination was minted until 1798. In that year, the Draped Bust obverse was combined with a new reverse, the Heraldic Eagle. The change to the Heraldic Eagle reverse was done to be in accord with the standard European practice of placing a coat of arms on a reverse of a coin. The gold and silver coins followed Scots heraldic eagle design.

The 1799 dollar is the Draped Bust type with the Heraldic Eagle Reverse. It was made from 1798 to 1804. The design shows a draped bust of Liberty 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, 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 in an arc pattern. 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.

Thomas Jefferson chose Robert Scot to be the first Chief Engraver of the United States Mint on November 23, 1793. Scott 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. His salary in 1795 was $1,200 per year. The Mint Director received only $800 dollars per year more. Scots ability to make dies was limited, and he was advanced in years with 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. These include the Flowing Hair and the Draped Bust motifs used on the early silver coins, and the gold quarter eagle, half eagle and eagle. Scot also designed the 1794-1797 half cent, the 1800-1808 draped bust half cent, and the Thomas Jefferson Indian Peace Medal. Scot died on November 1, 1823 and was succeeded by William Kneass as Chief Engraver.

All of the versions of the 1799 dollar had a combined original mintage of 423,515. In its population report NGC shows the BB-165 with 24 certified in all grades. In MS62 there are 2 with 1 better. At PCGS there is 1 in MS62 with none better. These numbers do not account for resubmissions or crossovers.