Production of Draped Bust dollars dated 1796 employed 4 known different obverse dies and 4 known different reverse dies, combining to create 6 different individual die varieties.  These are distinguished by the size of the numerals of the date and the size of the letters in the reverse legend, and both are found in so-called “large” and “small” sizes.  The combinations of date size and letter size result in 3 major types: small date/small letters, small date/large letters, and large date/small letters.  It is estimated that approximately 500 specimens of the small date/ small letters type are still in existence, making it the scarcest type of the year.  1796 dollars of the small date/large letters type are the most readily available dollars of the year, with an estimated 1,600 still in existence.  1796 dollars of the large date/small letters type are of medium availability among dollars of the year, with an estimated 1,100 still in existence.

Small Date

Large Date

Small Letters

Large Letters