Q. David Bowers
"Mr. Ahlborn paid her generous prices for the cents and some silver and was about to go away when the old lady said that she had another piece, that was a gift from her father and was made in the year he was born, but that she would not part with it for anything. He asked to see it and she brought out the finest 1796 half dollar he had ever seen. His eyes snapped, and he immediately considered how he could get possession of that half dollar.
"A lucky idea struck him: He bethought himself of a fine 1796 dollar he had bagged that morning, and taking it out he offered to exchange it with the lady for her half dollar making prominent the fact that this was a whole dollar, while hers was only a half dollar-besides it bore the same date and was equally as good. Convinced by this reasoning, she readily made the exchange, and Mr. A. went on his way satisfied with his day's work.
"He afterwards sold it to Mr. Parmelee for $150, and I think he holds it today for $350. It bears but very slight traces of circulation."
Likes 1796 and 1797 Dollars (1930)
Writing in the January 1930 issue of The Numismatist, Theodore]. Venn gave some investment predictions, noting that certain coins "should certainly continue to go higher [in price] if the number of collectors increases or even holds its own." Further: "In the dollar issues I favor most the coins of 1796 and 1797, also those of 1795 and 1801 and the 1799 with 5 stars facing."
The Year 1796 in History
On September 17, 1796, President George Washington delivered his Farewell Address, not orally but by publication in the Philadelphia American Advertiser. In it he said "it is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world." This established the isolationism that characterized much of American politics during the following century. In December, John Adams of Massachusetts was elected to the presidency on the Federalist ticket, gaining 71 Electoral College votes, as compared to 68 for Thomas Jefferson, 59 for Thomas Pinckney, and 30 for Aaron Burr. Under the provisions effective at the time, Jefferson, with the second highest number of votes, became vice president.
Tennessee, earlier a part of North Carolina, was admitted to the Union as the 16th state. Possibly because of this, certain coins (but not silver dollars) were made with 16 obverse stars-the highest standard star count to be achieved as part of any obverse design of the era. A public land act passed by the Congress on May 18, 1796 authorized the sale of U.S. government lands in minimum lots of 640 acres each at $2 per acre with payment to be made under a credit system.
Gilbert Stuart created his famous painting of George Washington, the so-called Athenaeum Head, which became the most popular of all portraits of the president; reproductions appeared in most schoolrooms in the United States. In Philadelphia, experiments with gas lighting were conducted. Billiards were a popular American recreation, particularly in the South. English astronomer Francis Baily toured the United States and reported that Norfolk, Virginia had a dozen parlors devoted to the game. English actor Joseph Jefferson appeared on the New York stage for the first time; decades later, he would become famous for his portrayal of Rip Van Winkle. Robert Burns wrote the poem, "Auld Lang Syne."
France experienced hyper-inflation, and a bushel of flour, worth the equivalent of 40¢ in 1790, rose in price to $5 (although a direct comparison is not possible, as changes in the value of money, the wage structure, etc., must be considered as well). In England, physician Edward Jenner first used inoculation effectively against smallpox, one of the world's most rampant, devastating afflictions (an improvement, vaccination, would be announced in 1798).
At the Mint, the dime and quarter dollar denominations were struck for the first time. Half cents bearing the 1796 date were made in small numbers and would become recognized as rarities, as would 1796 half dollars. $2.50 gold pieces, known as quarter eagles, were first minted. David Rittenhouse, late Mint director and president of the American Philosophical Society, died, and was eulogized by would be Mint director Benjamin Rush in an address at the First Presbyterian Church in High Street, Philadelphia, December 17, 1796 (cf. Essays, Literary, Moral; and Philosophical; by Benjamin Rush, M.D., Philadelphia: Thomas and Samuel Bradford, 1798).