US Coins 1844 O Seated Liberty Half Dime
1837-1873 Liberty Seated Half Dimes
The obverse of the coins features a depiction of Liberty seated on a rock. She holds a pole in her right hand with a Phyrigian cap on top. Different subtypes of the series have the surrounding fields empty, with thirteen stars, or containing the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Other obverse design changes included the addition of drapery from Liberty’s elbow early within the series, and the placement of arrows at the date to denote a change in weight.
The reverse features a wreath surrounding the denomination HALF DIME. For the earlier subtypes, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounds the wreath. After the motto was moved to the obverse, the wreath was redesigned with agricultural elements and enlarged. The denomination was also expressed in a larger and altered font.
The design for the Liberty Seated Half Dime was based on Britannia, who was featured on British coins. Artist Thomas Sully made a number of sketches from the concept. Assistant engraver Christian Gobrecht would work with the designs before they were considered to be suitable, and he is generally given credit for the overall design. During the course of the series there were a number of design alterations, which are broken down into different subtypes:
No Stars on obverse 1837-1838
Stars on obverse 1838-1853
Drapery from Elbow from 1840 onwards
Arrows at Date 1853-1855
Stars on obverse resumed 1856-1859
Legend on obverse 1860-1873
The first subtype, known as the “no stars” design, would be struck for one year at the Philadelphia Mint in 1837, and the following year in 1838 at the New Orleans Mint. The obverse features an image of Liberty seated on a rock. A pole is in her right hand with a phyrigian cap on top of it. She is looking over her left shoulder behind, and her right hand rests on a shield with the inscription LIBERTY. The lower field is occupied by the date, and the remaining fields were left empty. The reverse of the coin features a laurel wreath, with the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounding and the denomination spelled as HALF DIME within.
The original design was altered in 1838, when thirteen stars were added to the obverse. Since the stars were punched by hand, all dies are noticeably different, although only specialists pay attention to the different dies for coinage. The “stars on obverse” would be used until 1859, although other design changes would take place during this time.
In 1840, the Mint hired Robert Ball Hughes to make modifications to the Seated Liberty design. He made improvements to the seated figure of Liberty and added more drapery to the left of her elbow. The Liberty Seated Half Dimes with “drapery from elbow” would be struck for a portion of 1840 and then for the duration of the series, once again amidst other design changes.
Starting a portion of the way through 1853, arrows were added at both sides of the date. This was done to indicate the modification to the standard weight of the coin that had taken place. The “arrows at date” half dimes can be found from 1853 to 1855. After the arrows were removed, the newly adopted specifications would continue to be used.
The final subtype came in 1860 when both sides of the coin would experience the most significant changes. James B. Longacre modified the obverse and completely redesigned the reverse. The stars on the obverse were removed and replaced with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. This change gives the subtype its name “Legend on Obverse.” The reverse was altered to feature a larger wreath, with different agricultural features. The denomination HALF DIME was still within, but in a different, taller font.
Although this series is usually considered to be the easiest of the Liberty Seated type to complete, some issues are rare and challenging to locate in mint state grades. At the most extreme measure, the 1870-S half dime has a single example known to exist in all grades, even though none were reported to have been struck. While it usually is not considered to be part of a complete set of Seated Half Dimes it remains as one of the most famous rarities of all American coinage. Other low mintage issues are rare, but obtainable given a sufficient budget.
US Coins
1841 Seated Liberty Dime with Stars 1844 O Seated Liberty Half Dime
1838-1859 Half Dime Seated Liberty With Stars History
During the first third of the 19th century, the average American saw few of his country's gold or silver coins, if any at all. Strangely enough, in relation to the size of the rapidly expanding nation, not many coins were made. A combination of factors, including Congress' ill-founded 15 to 1 silver/gold ratio, questionable Mint procedures, fluctuating gold prices and the large domestic supply of Spanish silver pieces, all served to limit the number of U.S. coins in circulation.
By the early 1830s, with Latin-American revolutionary chaos subsiding, Mexican silver exports jumped, and along with Congress' new 16 to 1 silver/gold ratio, U.S. coinage flourished. Mintages ballooned dramatically, and the introduction of steam-powered coining presses in 1836 only enhanced the Mint's production capacity. While the ratio change, which favored silver, should have driven those coins from circulation, what actually occurred was an increase in the number of silver coins struck, particularly the smaller issues. Apparently Mexican mine owners found it profitable enough to sell their ore to the convenient and silver-hungry American market, despite the lower price. The U.S. was only too happy to turn their bullion into coins.
Changes were also taking place with Mint personnel: the new Director, Robert M. Patterson, hired the exceptionally talented Christian Gobrecht as Assistant Engraver. Gobrecht, a follower of the neoclassical style, was instructed to completely redesign the coinage using the English figure of Britannia as a model. Working from sketches made by Titian Peale and Thomas Sully, Gobrecht fashioned a majestic image of Liberty, and in 1836 his Seated Liberty design was first used on silver dollars, the quasi-pattern "Gobrecht" issues. By the next year, working dies were ready, and production of the new half dimes began.
Only No Stars half dimes (and dimes) of 1837-38 accurately reflect Gobrecht's original concept. Liberty is seated on a large rock, holding a pole topped with a Liberty cap. The figure sits alone in the field with only the date below, imparting a cameo, medal-like appearance to the coin. The reverse essentially the same on all half dimes from 1837 to 1859 features the denomination HALF DIME encircled by a laurel wreath, in turn surrounded by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. In 1838, 13 stars were arranged around the image of Liberty, creating the Stars Obverse type, with each star hand-punched into a previous No Stars die. Collectors refer to the coins of 1838-1840 slightly different in appearance than later issues as the "No Drapery" variety and often include them in type sets as a separate design.
In 1840, Robert Ball Hughes made the first of many modifications to come. He added extra drapery behind Liberty's elbow, and unfortunately, "fattened" the overall design. Thirteen years later, to combat widespread melting of silver coins following the California Gold Rush, Chief Engraver James B. Longacre added arrowheads on either side of the date, denoting a slight weight reduction. The Stars obverse design, without arrows, resumed in 1856 and continued until 1860, when the Legend Obverse design debuted. The last changes were made in 1859, when engraver Anthony Paquet slimmed Liberty's arms, reduced the size of her cap and enlarged her head. But the most notable difference of Paquet's revision is the hollow center of each peripheral star. Some type collectors include this minor variety in their sets.
As one of the five major design types of the popular Seated Liberty series, Stars Obverse half dimes are collected by date and mintmark as well as by type. Scarce dates abound, and some are nearly impossible to find, particularly in high grade most notably 1844-O, 1846, 1849-O and 1853-O No Arrows. Type collectors searching for gem specimens will most frequently encounter the Philadelphia coins of 1857 and 1858. The series includes two well-known oddities, the 1859 and 1860 "transitional" issues. Both were creations of Mint Director James Ross Snowden, whose driving ambition during his tenure was to fill the conspicuous gaps in the Mint's collection of U.S. coins. He authorized the striking of several "fantasy" pieces, including the Class III 1804 dollars, certain Gobrecht dollar restrikes and the so-called "transitional" half dimes and dimes. The half dimes had the Stars Obverse paired with the "cereal wreath" reverse of 1860. These "coins without a country" (they lack the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) were traded to local collectors for coins missing from the Mint collection. The 1859 is a proof striking and very rare, with only 12-15 pieces known, but the 1860 pieces are business strikes, and with an original mintage of 100 coins, occasionally appear on the market.
A tiny number of proofs totalling fewer than 1,000 pieces were struck from 1838 through 1859, with 880 issued in 1858 and 1859 alone. Proof specimens before 1856 are rarely seen. Conversely, with a total of 42.7 million pieces struck, business strikes are quite plentiful, at least in lower grades. Only the Philadelphia (no mintmark) and New Orleans (O) Mints produced this design, with the southern branch mint producing fewer coins, but ones that saw immediate and heavy use. For that reason, Philadelphia issues appear more frequently, especially in the higher grades. New Orleans mintmarks are above the bow knot of the wreath.
Many weak strikes exist in the series, making those issues more difficult to grade. Unfortunately, the addition of peripheral stars in 1838 only added to striking problems. Coins from New Orleans are usually seen with weak strikes, and Philadelphia issues between 1856 and 1858 are often weakly defined on the central drapery and head of Liberty. Higher grade pieces will first show friction on the obverse on Liberty's knees and bust. On the reverse, wear first appears on the ribbon bow. No common counterfeits plague the series, but bogus specimens have surfaced in the past with added O mintmarks, removed arrows on 1853 coins, as well as altered 1858 pieces masquerading as the rare 1853 issues.
By the time Stars Obverse half dimes ended their run, America stood on the brink of civil war. The coming conflagration would see many of the little coins disappear into hoards and melting pots. Production ended in 1859 to make way for the new Legend Obverse design with the fanciful "cereal wreath" on the reverse. However, Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty lived on until Congress ended the denomination 24 years later, with legislation that history would call the "Crime of `73."
1837-1873 Liberty Seated Half Dimes: Specifications
Liberty Seated Half DimeLiberty Seated Half Dimes were produced at the Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco Mint facilities. As usual the Philadelphia minted coins have no mintmark.
New Orleans minted coins of the “no stars” and “stars” subtypes have the “O” mintmark located on the reverse within the wreath, under the denomination. For the “legend on obverse” subtype minted for only a single year in 1860, the mintmark is located under the wreath on the reverse.
The “S” mint mark for San Francisco issues would have the same location, although it was moved to the old location for the final years of the series. For several years both mintmark positions exist.
The Liberty Seated Half Dimes produced from 1837 to 1853 have a diameter of 15.9 mm and are struck out of silver (90%) and copper (10% composition). Uncirculated pieces weigh 20.6 grains (1.3 grams) and all have a reeded edge.
The specifications of the coins were changed in 1853 with the weight decreased to 19 grains (1.2 grams). The change was noted by adding arrows to each side of the date for coins issued with the new weight from 1853 to 1855. The arrows were removed the following year, although the modified specifications continued in use until the end of the series in 1873.
1837-1873 Liberty Seated Half Dimes: Mintage
Liberty Seated Half Dimes were produced between the years 1837 to 1873 inclusive with mintages varying widely. During the course of the series, the obverse and reverse designs underwent a series of changes, which create numerous subtypes throughout the series. The denomination also underwent a change in weight in 1853. This year and the following, the denomination would experience its highest production levels.
The lowest mintage coin came in 1867 during the Civil War when just 8,000 coins were produced. Despite the low figure, the key date of the series is considered to be the 1846, which had 27,000 coins produced. The scant mintage of 1867 was more heavily saved, compared to the coins of 1846, which circulated heavily, leaving few uncirculated examples for collectors.
A unique coin exists which is not included in the mintage figures below. The 1870-S Half Dime has one known example, despite the fact that no half dimes were officially reported struck at the San Francisco Mint this year.
No Stars on Obverse
1837 1,405,000
1838-O 70,000
Stars on Obverse
1838 2,255,000
1839 1,069,150
1839-O 1,060,000
1840 1,344,085
1840-O 935,000
1841 1,150,000
1841-O 815,000
1842 815,000
1842-O 350,000
1843 1,165,000
1844 430,000
1844-O 220,000
1845 1,564,000
1846 27,000
1847 1,274,000
1848 668,000
1848-O 600,000
1849 1,309,000
1849-O 140,000
1850 955,000
1850-O 690,000
1851 781,000
1851-O 860,000
1852 1,000,500
1852-O 260,000
1853 135,000
1853-O 160,000
Arrows at Date
1853 13,210,020
1853-O 2,200,000
1854 5,740,000
1854-O 1,560,000
1855 1,750,000
1855-O 600,000
Stars on Obverse
1856 4,880,000
1856-O 1,100,000
1857 7,280,000
1857-O 1,380,000
1858 3,500,000
1858-O 1,660,000
1859 340,000
1859-O 560,000
Legend on Obverse
1860 799,000
1860-O 1,060,000
1861 3,361,000
1862 1,492,000
1863 18,000
1863-S 100,000
1864 48,000
1864-S 90,000
1865 13,000
1865-S 120,000
1866 10,000
1866-S 120,000
1867 8,000
1867-S 120,000
1868 88,600
1868-S 280,000
1869 208,000
1869-S 230,000
1870 535,000
1871 1,873,000
1871-S 161,000
1872 2,947,000
1872-S 837,000
1873 712,000
1873-S 324,000
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Blythe, Al, The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dimes, DLRC Press, Virginia Beach, VA, 1992.
Bowers, Q. David, United States Coins by Design Types, An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor, Bowers and Merena, Wolfeboro, NH, 1986.
Breen, Walter, A Coiner's Caviar, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Proof Coins, 1722-1989, Bowers & Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH, 1989.
Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, F.C.I. Press/Doubleday, New York, 1988.
Carothers, Neil, Fractional Money, A History of Small Coins and Fractional Paper Currency of the United States, John Wiley & Sons, London, 1930.