1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dime
Circulation strike struck at the New Orleans Mint · 350,000 made
- Mintage
- 350,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 1.34 g
- Diameter
- 15.5 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dime worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dime rare?
- Yes. Only 350,000 were made, 27th lowest of the 70 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0388 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is O, for New Orleans.
- Which New Orleans dates near 1842 are scarcer?
- The 1838-O at 70,000, the 1844-O at 220,000, the 1840-O (With Drapery) at 240,000. So the 1842-O is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dime coins were made?
- 350,000.
What to check on your 1842-O
- Make sure the mint mark really is a O. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1842 (815,000 made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the shield wears first; a full LIBERTY marks Fine or better. These tiny coins are often bent, cleaned or holed.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1842-O
New Orleans made 350,000 in 1842, down from 815,000 in 1841. After that, New Orleans didn't make another until 1844.
1842 came to 815,000, so neither mint's 1842 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1859 (340,000) and the 1873-S (324,000).
New Orleans struck the Seated Liberty Half Dime in 21 issues between 1838 and 1860. By mintage this one lands in the scarcer half, while the key for that mint is the 1838-O (70,000). Within the 1840s it's 6th smallest of 18, between the 1840 (With Drapery) (310,085) and the 1844 (430,000).
Steady output and the 1844-O (1841 to 1845)
With the drapery design in place, half dimes became an everyday coin. Philadelphia struck between 815,000 and 1,564,000 in every year from 1841 to 1845 except 1844. New Orleans added 815,000 in 1841 and 350,000 in 1842, then made no half dimes in 1843. Its 1844-O run of 220,000 is the scarce date of the period. New Orleans struck no half dimes in 1845.
The 1844-O is seldom found with sharp detail. The Philadelphia 1844, at 430,000, is also lower than its neighbors. The other dates are among the most available Seated half dimes from before the Civil War, which makes them a good starting point for a collection. In these years the half dime was the smallest silver coin in daily use, since the three-cent silver piece did not arrive until 1851.
When you check a half dime of these years, look at the reverse under a magnifier for the small O near the bow of the wreath. Then judge the grade by the shield. A full LIBERTY on the scroll across it means Fine or better, while a smooth scroll points to Good or Very Good. Because these coins are so thin, also tilt them in the light to spot bends. If one side of your coin is smooth and engraved with initials, it is a love token, a keepsake popular in the late 1800s. Those are collected in their own right, though not as dated coins.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock with her right hand on a shield crossed by a scroll reading LIBERTY and her left hand holding a pole topped by a liberty cap. The 1837 and 1838-O half dimes show nothing else on the obverse but the date. From 1838 to 1859 thirteen stars ring the design and from 1860 they are replaced by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Drapery falls from her left elbow on coins from late 1840 on. Arrows beside the date mark the lighter coins of 1853 to 1855. Until 1859 the reverse shows HALF DIME inside a laurel wreath circled by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. From 1860 a cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounds HALF DIME alone. Mint marks for New Orleans and San Francisco are on the reverse near the bow.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Half Dime (1837–1873) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1842 |
| Mint | New Orleans Mint |
| Mint mark | "O" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 350,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 1.34 grams |
| Diameter | 15.5 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0388 troy oz (1.206 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dime | 815,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0388 oz |
| 1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dime | 350,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0388 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.