1797 10x6 Stars

The 1797 10x6 Stars Draped Bust Dollar carries an obverse with 10 stars on the left and 6 stars on the right, totaling 16 stars commemorating the 16 states in the Union following the June 1, 1796 admission of Tennessee. The 1797 dollar production was sharply limited to a combined 7,776-piece annual mintage across all varieties, making the 1797 one of the lowest-mintage Draped Bust years. The 1797 10x6 Stars carries the Small Eagle reverse that defines the early Draped Bust era and the Robert Scot engraving of the Gilbert Stuart obverse portrait. The 16-star arrangement was modified mid-year as the Mint adopted a new convention of 13 stars representing the original colonies rather than tracking new state admissions.

Strike quality on the 1797 10x6 Stars varies across the very small production, with central definition on Liberty and the eagle often soft on the limited die work. Most surviving examples grade VG to VF from heavy circulation in the late 1790s and early 1800s, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at F and VF. Mint State examples are genuinely rare at all levels, with MS63 and above among the trophy pickups of the entire early American silver-dollar series. Die marriages are catalogued by the Bowers-Borckardt (BB) attribution system.

The 1797 10x6 Stars is a regular common date for the very small 1797 production year and trades at premium levels at every grade reflecting both the small surviving population and the 16-star Tennessee-admission context. The 1797 10x6 Stars pairs with the 1797 9x7 Stars Large Letters and 9x7 Stars Small Letters as the three matched 1797 star-and-letter variety triad. Authentication concerns center on cleaning, polishing, edge damage, and counterfeit detection; certified slabs from PCGS or NGC with BB die-marriage attribution noted on the holder are essential at any meaningful price level. For the Tennessee admission context, the 16-to-13 star transition, and the broader 1797 production history, see the Draped Bust Dollar series history.