Q. David Bowers
1798 [BB-111] B-11Aa. The break is now more serious and extends across the face into the hair. VF, golden and iridescent toning. $310.00.
1798 [BB-111] B-11B. With the die break as listed by Bolender but now the upper break is more prominent than the lower break (B-11A). VF, pale steel toning. $330.00.
1798 [BB-111] B-11b. The "mound" now is quite obvious but it sill hasn't started to shatter. A nice VF. $350.00.
1798 [BB-111] B-11Ba. The breaks have now extended across the head into the field beyond, towards the "L" of LIBERTY. VG, a few reverse scratches. $180.00.
1798 [BB-112] B-15. Spur on the 9. Wide Date. The reverse is that of B-11. EF, but weakly struck in the central portion, especially on the eagle's head and adjacent stars. Die flaws at the final "S" in STATES. $450.00.
1798 [BB-112] B-15A. Struck from the unfinished dies with the stars smaller. This variety could easily be confused with the B-11 because of the weakness at the right side of the 9. A nice borderline VF. A Rarity-5 item. $330.00.
1798 [BB-112] B-15a. Spur on 9. Wide Date. As above, but without the die flaws. Well struck in the central portion. Fine. $310.00.
1798 [BB-112] B-15b. From the same dies as above, but a very curious strike with the 6th star, 7th star, and "LI" virtually invisible, and correspondingly "NITE." EF, but obviously weakly struck in portions. Still a splendid coin and one for the numismatic student. $420.00.
1795 [BB-113] B-27. From the B-26 die without the obverse break. The reverse from the B-11 die, with a small reverse die crack. EF, with two microscopic X's in the obverse field. $310.00.
1798 [BB-113] B-27a. As above, with the break mentioned but now there are further breaks from an arrowhead through the wing to STA. A choice VF. $370.00.
1798 [BB-114] B-26. Close Date. This obverse was used for five subsequent varieties. VF, with a minor planchet defect on the edge at the third star. $360.00.
1798 [BB-115] B-31. The obverse die of B-26 with a new reverse die. The reverse breaks fall into a category between 31 and 31A. A Rarity-7. Fine to VF. $260.00.
1798 [BB-115] B-31A. As above, with all of the breaks mentioned by Bolender. Rarity-7. VF, with two old obverse gouges. $200.00.
1798 [BB-116] B-30. Obverse of B-26, but some of the crack has been disturbed because of a very clever plugging beneath the I. It is virtually indiscernible. Fine. $170.00.
1798 [BB-116] B-30A. As above, but with the further breaks as described by Bolender. A Rarity-6 item because very few could have been struck with this many breaks. The "mounding" has advanced considerably. EF and probably one of the finest extant. $475.00.
1798 [BB-117] B-33. Unknown to either Bolender or Haseltine. The obverse is B-26, but the reverse is new. A tiny engraver's scratch from upper right point of the shield. A massive crack starts at the rim through the right part of "T" and terminates in a large "mound" at the juncture of the left wing of the eagle. A startlingly beautiful coin, fully EF and lustrous. $850.00.
1798 [BB-117] B-33a. Obviously unknown as it is a die state of (B-33). The reverse crack has totally bisected the reverse from "T" to "M" in what must be the terminal state of the dies. Fortunately for the collector, in each case of either a discovery coin or a Rarity-8 in the Spies Collection, most of the coins are choice which takes the guesswork out of determining their varieties. EF with pale pink and iridescent toning. $525.00.
1798 [BB-118] B-28. Close Date. The obverse of B-26 with the additional break. The reverse is perfect. A choice VF. Rare. $360.00.
1798 [BB-118] B-28a. The obverse same as above. The reverse with most of the reverse breaks mentioned by Bolender. Struck slightly off center, but really a beautiful specimen. About Unc., with considerable lustre. Light golden and iridescent toning. $675.00.
1798 [BB-119] B-29. From the B-26 die with additional breaks. The reverse is from the B-12 die. VF. $290.00.
1798 [BB-119] B-29a. As above, but with further cracks across the bust back towards the second star. The reverse, however, was struck from perfect dies. EF, pale steel toning. $800.00.
1798 [BB-120] B-12, Close Date. The die started to break up which makes for some unevenness in strike. The reverse break clear as mentioned. VF, steel and iridescent. $320.00.
1798 [BB-120] B-12a. With the break as above, but with quite a few additional breaks obverse and reverse. The "mounding" is quite evident. VF, steel toning. $320.00.