Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia
Q. David Bowers
1795 Flowing Hair. BB-17.
Obv: Portrait I (Head of '94)
Rev: Eagle I, Wreath I (2 leaves) (B-18.)
• OBVERSE 4: See description under 1795 BB-16. Wide date.
Obverse die used to strike 1795 BB-16, BB-17, and BB-18.
• REVERSE E: Two leaves under each wing. The only 1795 reverse die with 19 berries arranged 8x11.
No outer berry under A in STATES.
Reverse die used to strike 1795 BB-17 only.
Notes about other die varieties called Bolender-18 in years past:
A "Bolender-18" variety different from that I list as BB-17 here, billed as a new discovery and described in the December 1952 issue of The Numismatist, and there called Bolender-18, was later called Bolender-21 by collectors. However, today it is called neither Bolender-18 nor Bolender-21, but an early state of 1795 Bolender-6 (now BB-25), to which refer.
The Spies Collection "Bolender-18" coin (Stack's, 1974): 19, was described as: "Unlisted in Bolender. B-13 obverse, B-12 reverse. EF and wholly prooflike, but a few very faint scratches between the 1 and 7." This coin is now included among the listings for 1795 BB-25, Die State 1, while 1795 BB-17 is a different variety.
• AUCTION POPULATION SURVEY: None.
• COLLECTING NOTES: Douglas Winter reports that at least two are known.
• NOTABLE SPECIMENS:
Eliasberg Specimen. • The 5th revised edition of the Bolender book, Krause Publications, 1988, p. 21, notes:
"Specimen known in Eliasberg Collection."
• POPULATION DISTRIBUTION:
Approximate population MS-65 or better: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population MS-64: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population MS-63: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population MS-60 to 62: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population AU-50 to 58: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population VF-20 to EF-45: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population G-4 to F-15: 0 (URS-0)
Approximate population for all grades combined: 2? (URS-2?); more information is needed before the Population Distribution can be completed.
• CONDITION CENSUS: Unknown
1795 Flowing Hair. BB-18.
Obv: Portrait I (Head of '94) Rev: Eagle I, Wreath II (3 leaves) Exists with silver plug at center (B-7. H-7.)
• OBVERSE 4: See description under 1795 BB-16. Wide date.
Obverse die used to strike 1795 BB-16, BB-17, and BB-18.
• REVERSE F: Three leaves under each wing. The only 14-berry variety. Seven berries on each branch. There is only one berry on left branch of wreath between eagle's wing and ribbon bow, and it is on the inside of wreath. Two berries below the D in UNITED. Conspicuous die flaws at the end of the left ribbon. E in AMERICA double punched at top.
Reverse die used to strike 1795 BB-18 and BB-19.
• DIE STATES:
Die State I: Die flaws or stray marks at the end of the left ribbon; these are in the form of two tiny extensions to the ribbon, with the extension on the left being the larger of the two. The state usually seen.
Die State II: As preceding, but the smaller of the two flaws-the one on the right side of the left ribbon end-is now gone, either from die wear or light relapping. Much scarcer than preceding.
• AUCTION POPULATION SURVEY: Less than Good: 1, Very Good: 7, Fine: 28, Very Fine: 36, Extremely Fine: 9, About Uncirculated: 6, Mint State-60 or better: 8. Total: 95.
• COLLECTING NOTES: 1795 BB-18 is one of the more available varieties of the year, but is hard to find in higher grades. Probably, about 500 to 800 survive. In his 1881 Type-Table, J.W. Haseltine called this variety very rare. By 1950, M.H. Bolender played the rarity down to the R-4 level, which, if the Sheldon Scale was intended, meant that Bolender felt that somewhere between 76 and 200 were known. Since then, many more have been identified.