1799, A Brief History

In 1799 John Adams was still president and Thomas Jefferson was his vice president. Eli Whitney, who held a 1798 United States government contract for the manufacture of muskets, was introduced to the French concept of interchangeable parts, which became the origin of the American system of manufacturing. A 12 year old boy named Conrad John Reed found a “heavy yellow rock” along Little Meadow Creek in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. When Reed’s father, John found out that the rock is gold in 1802, the first gold rush in the United States began.

In 1797, a real estate bubble in land speculation burst. It was caused by deflation by the Bank of England that came to North America and disrupted markets in the United States and Caribbean. Despite the major financial panic, prosperity continued in the South. In the North there was economic stagnation for three years.

During this time the United States was engaged with France in the Quasi-War, which was also known as the Franco-American War. In 1794 President Washington sent John Jay to London to negotiate a treaty with Britain that would prevent them from impressing American sailors who had allegedly deserted the British navy. Although Washington believed in American neutrality, the British wanted to prevent the United States from trading with France. When the Jay Treaty was signed, France interpreted it as a new alliance with her old enemy. She retaliated by seizing American ships carrying British goods. In 1797, France was run by a group of five men known as The Directory. The American reaction was in response to a demand that the United States would have to pay the five members of The Directory $50,000 each and pay tribute to France in the form of a $10,000,000 loan. The French were mad about the treaty with England, and they wanted the bribe to stop their attacks on United States shipping. American delegate Charles Pinckney actually responded, "No, no, not a sixpence, sir!" The quote, "Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute," was actually made by Robert Goodloe Harper as a toast at a dinner shortly after the American delegation returned home. The next day a newspaper printed the toast from the night before and soon people began using it as a rallying cry.

President Adams responded by asking Congress to appropriate funds for defensive measures. These included the augmentation of the Navy, improvement of coastal defensives, the creation of a provisional army, and authority for the President to summon up to 80,000 militiamen to active duty. Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts to curb dissent, created the Navy Department, organized the Marine Corps, and cancelled the treaties of alliance and commerce with France that had been negotiated during the War of Independence. Incidents, some bloody, soon took place on the high seas. From the outset, however, President Adams tried to find a peaceful solution with honorable terms for the United States. He talked pugnaciously and urged a military buildup, but his goal was to demonstrate American resolve and, he hoped, bring France to the bargaining table. During the fall of 1798 and the winter of 1799, he received intelligence indicating a French willingness to talk. When Talleyrand sent unofficial word that American diplomats would be received by the French government, Adams announced his intention to send another diplomatic commission to France. By the time the commissioners reached Paris late in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte had become the head of the French government. After several weeks of negotiation, the American envoys and Napoleon signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine, which released the United States from its Revolutionary War alliance with France and brought an end to the Quasi-War. Adams later said that the peace he arranged with France was his greatest achievement as a public servant.

Domestic policy in 1799 reflected foreign affairs. Adam’s inclination was to let Congress handle domestic affairs and deal with foreign policy himself. However, because of his extensive diplomatic experience, he mixed both foreign and domestic policy because foreign affairs often caused a domestic reaction. After the XYZ affair, the name give to Talleyrand’s attempted bribery, American was more inclined to be opposed to France and its interests. The Federalists wanted to crush the pro-French Democratic-Republican Party of Jefferson. In 1798 Congress passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, which Adams signed into law. Three of these laws were aimed at immigrants, who usually voted for the Democratic-Republicans. The Naturalization Act made longer the residency requirement for citizenship from five to fourteen years. The Alien Act allowed for detention of aliens without counsel or trial. The Sedition Act outlawed conspiracy to hinder the enforcement of federal laws. During the final year of the Adams administration, there were fifteen indictments and ten convictions under the Sedition Act. While no aliens were deported or arrested, hundreds fled the country in 1798 and 1799. To pay for the increasing cost of the military, new federal taxes were levied. In eastern Pennsylvania, farmers rioted and attacked federal tax collectors. This incident was called Frie’s Rebellion. Although several members of the rebellion were captured and sentenced to death, Adams pardoned all on the eve of the 1800 election. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison opposed Adams’ use of federal power. Believing that through the state legislatures they had the authority to judge the correctness of federal actions, they pronounced the Alien and Sedition Acts null and void. This action raised the question of states’ rights and how conflict would be resolved between the federal and state government without secession or war.

The heraldic eagle reverse, which first appeared in 1795 on the half eagle, was in use in 1799 on the silver dollar and both the gold half eagle and eagle. By reversing the positions of the arrows and olive branch, designer Robert Scot was probably following orders to send a message to France and others to be mindful of United States sovereignty. After all in declaring and fighting for independence, the United States had just defeated Great Britain, a superpower. Some researchers, notably Walter Breen, contend that Scot made a design error in copying the Great Seal of the United States or that it was a “tasteless military brag.” However, at this time when design errors were made, they were quickly corrected. For example the 15-Stars Reverse silver dollar of 1799 was corrected to a 13 star arrangement. We are able to recognize it as a correction because remains of the two stars are easy to see under the clouds. We also notice the peculiar arrangement of the remaining stars. The point is that had Scot made an error in heraldry, it would have been quickly corrected and not allowed to be used until 1807 on the quarter and half eagle coins. The French would have been particularly sensitive to the message within the heraldry caused by the arrows being in the eagle’s dexter or more honorable (observer’s left) claw with the olive branch in the sinister claw. Rather than a brag or an error, as Breen suggests, it seems to be a warning which persisted from 1795 to 1807.

1799 Large Cent

1799 Large Cent - This circulated 1799 Large Cent is identifiable by date and type. The surfaces show moderate porosity and extensive wear, in keeping with the grade. The devices are chocolate brown over darker fields. The marks on the center of the reverse are scuff marks on the holder not the coin. The CAC sticker indicates that the coin is a premium quality piece and fully merits the assigned grade.

Since the coin is a regular date piece, it is identified as the S-189 variety. LIBERTY is evenly and closely spaced in its usual position. On the reverse, the E in UNITED and the F in OF are heavily recut at the crossbars. There is also a die chip between the E in ONE and the T in CENT. This variety has an R2+ rarity rating.

The Drape Bust cent was first struck in 1796. It was the second design type for the year. The design by Robert Scot was from a drawing by Gilbert Stuart that was first used in 1795 for a silver dollar.

The design shows in profile a draped bust of Liberty facing to the right and slightly upwards. Her hair is tied in the back with a ribbon, but most of it flows down behind her shoulder. Above her head is LIBERTY, and the date is below. A portrait of Ann Bingham is the source of the design. John Eckstein translated this drawing to models for Engraver Robert Scot.

Evidently Eckstein made the models poorly, which might explain why Stuart’s family refused to acknowledge his role in the coinage design. The reverse shows the denomination ONE CENT enclosed in an open laurel wreath that is tied at the bottom with a ribbon. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the wreath, and the fraction 1/100 is below. Dentils are at the edge on both sides, and the coin has a plain edge.

All 1799 cents are rare and sought after by collectors and investors. They are especially prized by collectors of large cents because of their scarcity. Many are found with altered dates and/or are electrotype copies. (All USRCI coins are certified by one of the major grading services and are guaranteed genuine and authentic.) In its population report, as of December 2012, CAC has confirmed 1, the present coin, in FR02 with 8 better.

 

1799/8 Large Cent

1799/8 Large Cent - The overdate coinage shows us the Mint’s frugality. Since die steel was in short supply, it was easier to cut a 9 over an existing 8 rather than remake a die that had become out dated. The new die was used in two combinations resulting in the S-188 die variety and the NC-1. The third 1799 cent was made from a die with a perfect date.

The 1799/8 Large Cent is a Draped Bust type that was minted from 1796 to 1807. Liberty wears a low-cut top. Her hair is partially tied up with part falling loose. The 1799 Large Cent is one of the most famous among early copper collectors. In the 1800s pioneer American numismatist Joseph Mickley attempted to locate an example because 1799 was his birth year. According to Mint records, over 900,000 were produced; however, the actual mintage was considerably smaller.

Today, approximately 900 cents of this date are known. This number is comprised of three die varieties, a normal date and two overdates. Almost always found in lower grades, there are about 700 normal dates and 200 with a 1799/8 overdate.

The S-188 die variety has the 1799/8 overdate obverse, which it shares with the prohibitively rare NC-1. LIBERTY is farther to the left than usual and evenly spaced except for the letters IB, which are close to each other. The second 9 is over the 8, and its knob is connected to the top of the 9. On the reverse of the S-188, the third outside and inside pairs of leaves have no stems and are not connected to the wreath.

This variety has an R4 rarity rating, which means that 76 to 200 examples are known in all grades. This variety is also seen with a heavy triple die break on the upper left obverse.

 

1799/8 Silver Dollar

1799/8 Silver Dollar - The 1799/8 silver dollar is the BB-141 variety. The coin has an overdate obverse combined with a Fifteen Star reverse. The obverse die was intended for use in 1798, but it was never used for that year. The last 9 was punched over the previous 8 causing the overdate.

On the reverse, the engraver evidently first punched seven stars into the top row below the clouds. When he realized his mistake, he enlarged Clouds 1 and 8 to cover the stars at the ends making it a row of five stars; however, both of the extra stars protrude from the bottoms of the clouds.

The middle row of stars was six, which he left alone. With two at the bottom, he had the correct total number of stars, not counting those he tried to cover up, in an unusual arrangement. The BB-141 has an R-2 rarity rating, which means that 501 to 1,250 exist in all grades.

1799 Half Eagle, Small Stars Reverse

1799 Half Eagle - There are seven varieties of the Small Stars Reverse 1799 half eagle. All are rare. The pictured coin is identified as BD-6. It has a wide date with the last 9 recut on its lower right. The first 9 is as low as the 7, and the last 9 is higher. It is recut because it was previously punched to the right. The reverse has small stars in an even arc pattern. The upright of E in STATES is over the space between two clouds. There is a die crack from the rim to the lower left part of A in STATES.

The coin is lightly circulated with an above average strike. Good detail is present on Liberty’s hair, a couple of the obverse stars, the upper part of the shield, the lower part of the eagle’s neck, and the wings. Just a touch of wear is present on the highest points of the coin. The surfaces are original and clean for the grade with no individually distracting abrasion marks, and there are no adjustment marks. Except for the upper left on both sides, the dentils are full. Significant, bright mint luster remains within the devices.

The obverse design shows Liberty facing right. Below her is the date which is off center to the left. Between the date and the word LIBERTY on the left side of the coin are eight stars. Five stars follow LIBERTY down to the bust. Liberty wears a large, soft cap. Her hair flows down and also shows on her forehead. The design was probably taken from a Roman engraving of a Greek goddess. Liberty’s cap was certainly not a Phrygian or liberty cap. The liberty cap, emblematic of freedom, was worn by freed slaves and freed gladiators in Roman times. It was a close fitting cap used to cover a shorn head, which was one of the way slaves were identified. The oversized cap worn by Liberty has been called a turban, and the design has been called the Turban Head because of it.

The reverse shows a heraldic eagle. However, Scot mixed up the positions of the arrows and olive branch. The arrows held in the wrong claw signify defiant militarism. Either Scot made an error copying the image of the Great Seal, or he deliberately changed the symbolism. Perhaps the design was a warning to France, with whom the United States was engaged in an undeclared naval war, and others to be mindful of the new country’s sovereignty. In the field above the eagle are thirteen stars and above them, seven clouds. A banner from wing to wing has the motto E PLURIBUS UNUM. The early half eagle coins have no denomination because gold was valued by its weight and fineness as was the European coinage of the time. Dentils are at the periphery of both the obverse and reverse of these coins, and the edge is reeded.

The BD-6 Small Stars Reverse half eagle has an R5 rarity rating, which means that 40 to 50 are known in all grades.

 

1799 Eagle - Small Stars Obverse

1799 Eagle - Small Stars Obverse. The earliest eagles were larger and heavier than half dollars. They had one obverse and two reverses. The coins of 1795 to 1804 had the so called Turban Head obverse. It shows a large head of Liberty facing right, her hair in waves down her neck with one large strand wrapping around her cap, giving it a turban-like appearance.

The word LIBERTY is at the top and 13 to 16 stars fill out the rest of the periphery. The scrawny eagle on the reverse, somewhat reminiscent of the earliest dollars, is perched on a palm branch holding a small wreath in its beak. No denomination was used since gold and silver coins in those times were valued for their metallic content. In 1797 the heraldic eagle replaced the scrawny one.

Both reverses were used in that year, but the new design lasted until 1804 despite the reversal of the arrows and olive branch in the eagle’s talons. There were two varieties in 1799, a Small Obverse Stars and a Large Obverse Stars. The Small Stars punch was used first and evidently broke while in use.

The Small Stars variety is rarer than the Large Stars. The BD-8 has a tilted date with the 7 higher than the 1. On the reverse the point of Star 12 touches the upper beak as the eagle appears to bite its tip. The BD-8 has an R5 rarity rating, which means that 45 to 55 are known in all grades.

 

1799 Eagle - Large Stars Obverse

1799 Eagle - Large Stars Obverse. The 1799 Large Stars obverse punch was used through 1801 when it was replaced with another Large Stars punch. The BD-10, in addition to Large Stars on the obverse, has distinctive reverse features. A leaf from the olive branch touches the lower right of the letter I in AMERICA.

The eagle’s lower beak touches the point of Star 12, and the upper beak extends and nearly touches the same star. One of its points touches the ribbon as well. The reverse die was also used in 1800 and 1801. The BD-10 has an R3 rarity rating, which means that 300 to 400 are known in all grades.