A 1796 16 stars half-dollar is valued in excess of $116,000 at Heritage Auctions.
It's set to provide the top lot at a sale of coins from the Eugene H Gardner collection in New York on May 12.
 The 1796 16-stars half-dollar is one of 64 known surviving specimens |
The lot features a 16th star to commemorate Tennessee's admittance to the Union, however other specimens from this year were issued with 15.
Heritage comments: "Mint records do not indicate the number of 15-Star versus 16-Star examples that were minted. Our ongoing research on this series has documented, however, the existence of 77 examples of the former variety and 64 of the latter.
"From a statistical standpoint, it might therefore be assumed that fewer 1796 16-Star coins were produced than 1796 15-Star specimens…
"Whatever the case, 1796-1797 halves in this level of preservation are infrequently seen and cause significant excitement when they appear at auction."
An 1895 six-piece proof set (which includes an Indian cent, a Liberty nickel and a Barber dime) is also on offer, with a minimum bid of $80,000.
The coins range in grade from PR64 to PR68.
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