Instructions
Look for the profile of the Statue of Liberty, referred to as "liberty head" or an image of the bald eagle with its wings outstretched and a crest placed over its body, referred to as the "heraldic eagle." If there are other images on the coin, such as Miss Liberty seated or the eagle poised for flight without a crest, the coin is not a 1799 issue.
Look for a letter indicating a Mint location on the coin underneath the image. There should be no mint mark, such as "S" for San Francisco, as all coins were minted in Philadelphia at this time.
Watch for coins that are dated as 1799/8, which were printed during 1799 but were intended for 1798 circulation -- halted because of a yellow fever plague in Philadelphia that shut down the mint temporarily. These coins are very rare and valuable to collectors.
Examine the eagle's claws. There should be arrows in the right claw and an olive branch in the left. Some claim that the right claw is the more "honorable" claw and should therefore have held the olive branch instead of warlike arrows.
Look at the stars above the eagle's head. There were meant to be 13 to honor the first 13 colonies, but a die was incorrectly struck with 15 stars. Rather than discard the coins, the clouds were made larger to cover the stars, leaving only the tips of the two extra stars visible.