1837-1838 Liberty Seated Dime No Stars (Series 29)
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Designed by: Christian Gobrecht after a sketch by Thomas Sully
Issue dates: 1837 (Philadelphia) 1838-0 (New Orleans)
Composition: 0.900 part silver, 0.100 part copper
Diameter: 17.9 mm
Weight: 41.25 grains
Edge: Reeded
Business strike mintage: 1,088,534
Proof mintage: Fewer than 50 pieces
1837-1838 Starless Issues
The first Liberty Seated dime type without obverse stars and closely parallels the half dime of the same era. Indeed, the mintage was accomplished similarly: pieces were struck only at the Philadelphia Mint in 1837 and only at the New Orleans Mint in 1838. Some 682,500 were struck at the former facility and 408,034 at the latter.
The device consists of Miss Liberty seated on a rock, holding in her left hand a liberty cap on a pole, and holding a shield with her right. The date is below.
The reverse displays an open wreath enclosing ONE DIME, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounding. As attractive as this cameo-like motif is to collectors today, Mint officials did not consider it to be desirable, and it was discontinued shortly thereafter.
Collecting Notes
The type set enthusiast will find that examples of either issue are readily available in grades from Good through Very Fine or so, with the 1838-0 being a bit more expensive. Extremely Fine and AU coins are also encountered with regularity, less so for 1838-0. Uncirculated pieces, when found, are nearly always dated 1837. Superb Uncirculated coins are quite elusive. Mint State specimens of 1838-0 are great rarities.
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