Though there have been five 1797 half dollars graded at various Mint State levels by PCGS, any conversation on this date centers on two examples: the Norweb-Koshkarian coin and the Brand-Curtis-Hepner-Rogers-Foxfire-Pogue coin. The Koshkarian coin, graded MS-65+ by PCGS, has set a record for the most valuable half dollar ever sold twice: first when we sold it for $966,000 in our American Numismatic Rarities March 2004 sale, and again when we sold it (as Stack’s) in July 2008 for $1.38 million, a record that stood until the offering of the Pogue coin in 2015, and its subsequent offering in 2021. The gem example from the Pogue Sale is graded MS-66 by PCGS. Most observers consider it coin the finest known by a slim margin; after these two, no other comes close.

“There are two specimens that are truly superb examples,” David Hall has written about these two coins. In 1995, at its last auction appearance, the Pogue Collection example brought $517,000, almost $200,000 more than the 1796 that has been its near constant companion.

Though most collectors acquire just one example of this Draped Bust, Small Eagle half dollar to represent this rarest design type among American silver coins, those who specialize in half dollars and seek to acquire both the 1796 and 1797 issues find the 1797 to be more elusive.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the March 2021 Sale, where it realized $1,680,000.

1797 Draped Bust Half Dollar Auction Highlights

1797 Draped Bust Half Dollar PCGS MS-66, CAC Sold for $1,680,000   View Lot 4081

1797 Draped Bust Half Dollar NGC MS-66 Sold for $1,380,000   View Lot 4261

1797 Draped Bust Half Dollar NGC MS-61 Sold for $192,000   View Lot 1076