1797 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1797

Production of the Draped Bust quarter stopped after 1796 and would not resume until 1804.

The Mint in the 1790s

The Coinage Act of April 2, 1792 created the United States Mint and set the dollar as the basic unit of money. The Mint was built in Philadelphia, then the nation's capital, on Seventh Street. David Rittenhouse, the astronomer and scientist, was its first director and Henry Voigt served as chief coiner. Robert Scot became the first engraver in 1793 and cut the dies for most designs of the decade.

Coining was slow and hard work. Presses were turned by hand and silver and gold were coined only when depositors brought in bullion or foreign coins to be converted. Copper was always short; the Mint bought scrap and sheet copper wherever it could and from 1797 relied on planchets shipped from Matthew Boulton's works in Birmingham, England. Yellow fever epidemics in Philadelphia closed the Mint for weeks at a time in the late 1790s, which is one reason some dates of the decade are so scarce.

How many coins were made in 1797

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 967,298 coins dated 1797 across 3 issues. That is 88% more than in 1796 (515,629). In 1798 the figure rose to 1,869,295.

Every circulation coin on this page came from Philadelphia.

Those coins held about 3,682 troy ounces of pure silver.

1797 coins by denomination

Cents: 897,510 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Large Cent, up 90% on 1796.

Dimes: 25,261 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Dime, up 14% on 1796.

Odd Denominations: 44,527 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Draped Bust Half Dime, up 335% on 1796.

Every 1797 circulation issue at a glance

• 1797 Draped Bust Dime: 25,261 struck, 5th lowest of 10 in the series, similar to 1796.
• 1797 Draped Bust Half Dime: 44,527 struck, the highest mintage of the series, up from 10,230 in 1796.
• 1797 Draped Bust Large Cent: 897,510 struck, 6th lowest of 12 in the series, up from 363,375 in 1796.

Draped Bust Large Cent: Gilbert Stuart's portrait and the overdate years

Robert Scot adapted Gilbert Stuart's portrait of Liberty for the cent in late 1796, keeping the 168 grain weight. The early dies vary a great deal: 1796 alone has several reverse styles plus the famous LIHERTY error, where the B was cut over an R. In 1797 the Mint used both stemmed and stemless wreaths. Copper planchets bought from Matthew Boulton's works in Birmingham, England, began to supplement American copper late in the decade and improved quality.

The Mint saved money by reusing old dies, which created the 1798/7 overdate, the 1799/8 and the two 1800 overdates (over 1798 and over 179). The 1799 is the key of the whole design: only 42,540 cents were reported that year, partly because yellow fever closed the Mint and many cents struck in 1799 still carried the 1798 date. Most 1799 cents survive heavily worn. Altered dates are common, so experts check the shape of every digit.

Dies in this period were cut and recut by hand, so a single date can show several arrangements of digits, stems and berries in the wreath. The 1799 overdate and the 1800 overdates over 1798 and 1799 belong to these years. Collectors attribute the different dies by Sheldon numbers, from Penny Whimsy, the standard reference on early cents.

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Draped Bust Dime: The first dimes and the small eagle

The first American dimes were struck in 1796. Robert Scot's Draped Bust portrait, already used on other silver coins, shows Liberty with her hair tied by a ribbon and drapery at her shoulder. The reverse has a small eagle perched on clouds inside a wreath. There is no denomination anywhere on the coin. The portrait is traditionally said to follow a drawing by Gilbert Stuart, though that link is not documented. Users recognized the dime by its size and weight, 2.70 grams of silver 0.8924 fine and about 19 millimeters across.

Philadelphia struck 22,135 dimes dated 1796, all with fifteen stars on the obverse. In 1797 it made 25,261. Some 1797 coins have sixteen stars, one added for Tennessee, which had joined the Union in 1796. The Mint soon realized it could not keep adding stars, so other 1797 coins have thirteen stars, one for each original state.

These two dates are the only Draped Bust dimes with the small eagle reverse, which makes them important type coins. Both are significant rarities. Most survivors are worn and many have damage, holes or cleaning. The coins were struck one at a time on a screw press and planchets were often filed to the correct weight before striking. Those fine parallel file lines, called adjustment marks, are a sign of the period and are not damage. Count the stars, check the eagle and look for repairs.

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Draped Bust Half Dime: The Draped Bust and the small eagle

In 1796 Robert Scot's Draped Bust portrait replaced the Flowing Hair on the half dime. Mint Director Henry William DeSaussure, who served only a few months in 1795, wanted better designs for all silver coins. The portrait had appeared on the dollar late in 1795 and soon spread to all the silver and copper coins. The new Liberty has her hair tied with a ribbon and drapery at her shoulder. The reverse keeps a small eagle perched inside a wreath and there is still no denomination on the coin.

Philadelphia struck 10,230 half dimes dated 1796. That total includes the 1796/5 overdate and the LIKERTY variety, where a broken B punch makes LIBERTY read like LIKERTY. In 1797 the Mint made 44,527. The 1797 coins come with fifteen stars, sixteen stars after Tennessee joined the Union in 1796 and finally thirteen stars, when the Mint gave up adding stars for new states. The thirteen star coin is the one collectors seek hardest.

These are the only Draped Bust half dimes with the small eagle reverse, so they are an important type. All are significant rarities and most survivors are well worn. Many show adjustment marks from filing at the Mint, as well as old damage. Count the stars, read LIBERTY carefully and look for a reeded edge. Every one was struck by hand on a screw press at Philadelphia.

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