1799 Silver Dollar Help

Hello MichaelRoss, and welcome to the forum!

Sorry to hear about your grandfather. If it's any comfort, it sounds like he may have left his family a pretty advanced and valuable collection. If that dollar is in nice condition it will be worth several thousand dollars.

I found this example on the Heritage auction website and it sounds like it might be the same variety you have. It is a 1799/8 overdate, with the final 9 in the date punched over the 8 on a leftover die from the previous year. It has 7 stars on the left side of the obverse and 6 on the right, plus 13 stars over the eagle on the reverse. The "I" in AMERICA appears crumbled due to Die Deterioration. This variety is technically known as "B-1, BB-142" which identifies the specific obverse and reverse dies that were used to strike the coins.

This particular example was graded AU-53 by ANACS grading service and sold for about $4900 earlier this year. Can you confirm whether it is a match for your grandfather's coin?

You might also try the early dollar attribution wizard on the early dollar organization site.

http://www.earlydollars.org/wizardhome.htm

It sounds like you have the attribution right though. The B-1 dollar has a rarity rating of R-2 and the early dollars site estimates the population at around 700 pieces which makes it a "common" piece. Being common it isn't worth a premium over that of the type coin values (No special value for the variety.)

Value depends on authenticity and condition. Assuming the coin is genuine (there are many, many forgeries out there) it should be worth a minimum of $400 or so. To have that low value it would need to be in terrible condition, with problems like scratches from aggressive cleaning, corrosion, dents, or other damage. The price goes up from there. Like I said, the example I showed sold for $4900 at a recent Heritage auction and I'd say that price was a relative bargain. That coin was graded as a "53" on the Sheldon grading scale (goes from 1 to 70). If your coin is good enough to rate an MS-60 grade (the lowest mint state or uncirculated grade) it would be worth over $10,000 easy.

Please post some clear photos of your coin, both front and back. With photos we can give you a better idea about authenticity and possible value.