I got this one from a friend of mine who is a long time EACer. It was originally purchased off eBay, surprisingly. This is the first variety of the Draped Bust series, and the best example of a 1796 bust that I currently have. It's a scarce variety at R3, which actually makes it one of the more common varieties for the year (although ALL 1796 Draped Bust cents are R3 or higher, most higher!)

A well-worn but decent coin I purchased off eBay from a big-time eBay dealer. One of the slightly easier-to-come-by 1796 Draped Busts.

I originally bought an example of this variety in October, 1997 in a little coin shop in Summerdale, Alabama. This current example is from the Evan Kopald collection - he remarks that "both sides have such a fine porosity that it appears not to have any," which gives the coin a matte-like appearance. Middle die state with a crack over TY in LIBERTY. "Only" a scarce variety at R3.

A smooth, well-worn coin that I was able to win in the EAC auction in 2008. A scarce variety, but slightly more obtainable than many of the '96 busts.

A coin I purchased from an EAC buddy. This one is in strict BU condition (Black and Ugly - hehe.) She does have good detail though and a full date, plus this is a Rarity-5 coin. A decent coin until (or if) a better one comes along.

Wow - one of my favorite coins. I'd had plenty of opportunities to purchase a S-102 in the past, but I could never find a nice one... until now. This one came out of the John Pijewski sale (Superior - May 2005). 1796 was John's favorite year to collect, and even though I had to pay an arm (and most of a leg) to get this one, I'm very pleased with it. It was struck on one of those curious convex planchets (notice the complete lack of obverse rim.) It was graded VG10 in the sale, which I think is very low, considering the reverse.

I bid on this coin in Superior's Pre-Long Beach auction on 2/2001. This is the scarcer of the two "LIHERTY" varieties, being R4+. It has the reverse of '94 and was made before S-104. This specimen isn't too bad - it has some bright green pits on the reverse, but the obverse is pretty nice and shows the LIHERTY error very well.

I bid on this coin at the EAC convention and didn't expect to win it! So this was a nice surprise. The LIHERTY error shows up well. This is the more common of the two "LIHERTY" varieties, with S-103 being very scarce.

One of the cheaper 1796 bust cents from the Evan Kopald collection. Decent coin with some roughness on both sides, but not too bad for a '96. Recognized by the wide date in which all of the numerals seem to lean toward the right. Scarce R4 variety.

A nice '96 bust I won in the EAC 2008 sale. Some porosity but very nice detail. A coin that looked much better in person than in the auction photo. One of the more obtainable '96 bust varieties.

I bought this one from Larry Briggs. Seems like 1796s are tough all over. This is a decent good, with an uneven strike on the reverse (Fine at bottom left; Poor at top right!) It's probably the most common 1796 draped bust, with over 500 known.

I got this one from an EAC buddy. It was listed on eBay but did not sell; about a month later I remembered the coin and inquired about it, and we struck up a deal. One of the tougher 1796s at R5-.

This coin was part of the Mark Englestad Pacific Northwest collection of large cents, with this coin representing the 1796 Draped Bust, Rev '94 type in that collection. A tough R4+ variety that isn't seen very often. It's currently housed in a PCGS holder graded F15.

I bought this off of eBay. It's not the most attractive coin but it's a rare one - R5: 45 to 60 known. (When Sheldon was published in the 1940's it was regarded as a high R6: 12 to 18 known!) The crack through the date and the small crack joining the 6 in the date to the bust make this variety easy to attribute. Another tough 1796.

I bought this from an EAC buddy. Nice example of one of the more "common" varieties of 1796, even though this is the first S-115 I've ever seen. MDS with a die crack below the date and swelling on the lower bust. In a PCGS holder graded VG8.

This is an "out of the blue" coin; that is, an EAC buddy of mine knew I need this variety, and emailed me with a photo of a consignment coin that he had just gotten in. S-117 is one of those "impossible" varieties that's quite rare at R5+, and almost always comes pretty wretched. This example has really nice surfaces in spite of the minor reverse digs, and the date is pretty clear for a well-worn example. I couldn't pass up the opportunity!

Purchased from the Goldberg sale of 2/2008. This is one coin I REALLY wanted from the auction; S-119 had eluded me for some time. Reason is it's the third of three Nichols Hoard varieties that I needed, the first two being 1797 S-123 and 1797 S-135. Most of the S-119s, S-123s, and S-135s are from the Nichols hoard and are in mint state or close. Finding these varieties circulated is quite challenging. This is just a really nice, smooth Good 6.