1838 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1838

Three branch mints opened in 1838: New Orleans, Louisiana and the gold-only mints at Charlotte, North Carolina and Dahlonega, Georgia. The Liberty Seated design reached the quarter.

New this year: the Seated Liberty Quarter.

Last year of the Capped Bust Quarter.

The Mint in the 1830s

A new, larger Mint building opened in Philadelphia in 1833 at Chestnut and Juniper streets. Steam power arrived in 1836, allowing much faster and more uniform striking. The Coinage Act of 1834 cut the gold content of US gold coins so they would stop being exported and the Act of 1837 standardized silver coins at 90% silver.

Christian Gobrecht joined the Mint as engraver and designed the Seated Liberty figure that would appear on silver coins for more than half a century. Gold discoveries in Georgia and North Carolina led Congress to authorize branch mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega and a third at New Orleans, in 1835. All three began striking coins in 1838.

How many coins were made in 1838

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 15,441,754 coins dated 1838 across 9 issues. That is 21% more than in 1837 (12,758,520). In 1839 the figure fell to 11,880,487.

No earlier year on our list comes close: it was the largest output up to that point.

By mint: Philadelphia 14,965,700 (97%, up from 12,758,520) and New Orleans 476,054 (3.1%, new this year).

Those coins held about 1,805,965 troy ounces of pure silver.

1838 coins by denomination

Cents: 6,370,200 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent, up 15% on 1837.

Dimes: 2,398,534 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Dime, up 130% on 1837. The scarcest is the 1838-O (406,034) and the most plentiful the 1838 (1,992,500).

Quarters: 832,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Capped Bust Quarter and Seated Liberty Quarter, up 230% on 1837. The scarcest is the 1838 (366,000) and the most plentiful the 1838 (466,000).

Half Dollars: 3,546,020 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Capped Bust Half Dollar, down 2.3% on 1837. The scarcest is the 1838-O (20) and the most plentiful the 1838 (3,546,000).

Odd Denominations: 2,295,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Half Dime, up 0.83% on 1837. The scarcest is the 1838-O (70,000) and the most plentiful the 1838 (2,225,000).

Every 1838 circulation issue at a glance

• 1838-O Capped Bust Half Dollar: 20 struck, the lowest mintage of all 35 Capped Bust Half Dollar issues.
• 1838-O Seated Liberty Half Dime: 70,000 struck, 7th lowest of 70 in the series.
• 1838 Capped Bust Quarter: 366,000 struck, more than 82% of the series' 18 issues, up from 252,400 in 1837.
• 1838-O Seated Liberty Dime: 406,034 struck, 46th lowest of 116 in the series.
• 1838 Seated Liberty Quarter: 466,000 struck, more than 64% of the series' 108 issues.
• 1838 Seated Liberty Dime: 1,992,500 struck, more than 72% of the series' 116 issues, up from 682,500 in 1837.
• 1838 Seated Liberty Half Dime: 2,225,000 struck, more than 90% of the series' 70 issues, up from 1,405,000 in 1837.
• 1838 Capped Bust Half Dollar: 3,546,000 struck, more than 68% of the series' 35 issues, similar to 1837.
• 1838 Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent: 6,370,200 struck, the highest mintage of the series, similar to 1837.

Coronet (Matron Head) Large Cent: Gobrecht's modified heads and Hard Times

Christian Gobrecht began reworking the portrait in 1835, so some 1835 cents show the older head and others the slimmer Head of 1836. In 1837 he added beaded hair cords, giving the Head of 1838, while plain cord coins of the same year also exist. Demand rose during the Panic of 1837. Mintages reached 5.5 million in 1837 and 6.4 million in 1838.

The final year, 1839, is a collector favorite because it holds several transitional portraits known as the Silly Head and the Booby Head, as well as the scarce 1839/6 overdate, the key to this group. Copper Hard Times tokens, the same size as a cent, circulated widely in these years and are often found alongside them. Cents of 1835 to 1839 usually come with honest brown surfaces and are among the more affordable Coronet dates to complete.

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Capped Bust Quarter: Smaller quarters from a close collar

In 1831 William Kneass reworked Reich's design for striking in a close collar, cutting the diameter to about 24.3 mm and dropping the scroll with E PLURIBUS UNUM from the reverse. The close collar gave every coin a uniform size and a beaded border in place of the old denticles. The 1831 comes in small letter and large letter reverses.

Output climbed to 1,952,000 in 1835, the largest of the type. The 1833 and 1834 include an O over F error in the word OF on the reverse. The Act of January 18, 1837 changed the standard to 90 percent silver with a weight of 6.68 grams, though the coins look the same. In 1838 the Seated Liberty quarter replaced this design partway through the year. Small-size quarters are the easiest Capped Bust quarters to find in Very Fine and better grades.

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Seated Liberty Quarter: Seated quarters before the 1853 weight cut

Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty quarter replaced the Capped Bust late in 1838. The first coins have no drapery at Liberty's elbow. Extra folds of cloth were added in 1840, the same year the New Orleans Mint struck its first quarters in both styles. New Orleans then made quarters in most years of the 1840s, with the mint mark below the eagle.

After the California gold discoveries, silver rose in value against gold. Quarters became worth more as bullion than as money, so many were melted or shipped abroad. Philadelphia struck only 160,000 in 1851 and New Orleans just 88,000. The 1849-O, 1851-O and 1852-O are the scarce dates of these years. The 1842 small date exists only as a Philadelphia proof, while New Orleans struck both small and large dates that year.

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Capped Bust Half Dollar: Steam press and reeded edge

In late 1836 the Mint used its new steam-powered press to strike a redesigned half dollar modified by Christian Gobrecht. It was smaller, at about 30 mm, with a reeded edge in place of the lettered one. Only 1,200 reeded edge halves are dated 1836. Lettered edge halves were also struck that year, including an error with 50 over 00 in the denomination.

The 1837 reverse reads 50 CENTS, while 1838 and 1839 read HALF DOL. The 1837 coins were the first struck to the new standard of 90 percent silver and 13.36 grams. New Orleans struck about 20 halves in 1838. They are among the rarest of all American silver coins. The 1838-O and 1839-O carry their mint mark on the obverse above the date, an unusual position. The Seated Liberty half replaced the design later in 1839.

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Seated Liberty Dime: No stars, then stars, then drapery

Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty design reached the dime in 1837. It was a small version of his silver dollar of 1836 and drew on sketches by the painters Thomas Sully and Titian Peale. The very first dimes show Liberty and the date with no stars at all. Philadelphia struck 682,500 of these No Stars coins, in Large Date and Small Date forms. In 1838 the newly opened New Orleans Mint added 406,034 more, the first dimes ever struck outside Philadelphia. Its dies followed the original design without stars, so the 1838-O is a No Stars coin too.

Philadelphia put thirteen stars around Liberty in 1838 to match the other silver coins and output jumped to 1,992,500. Small Stars, Large Stars and Partial Drapery dies are all part of that figure. New Orleans then struck more dimes than Philadelphia in 1839, with 1,323,000 against 1,053,115. Late in 1840 the sculptor Robert Ball Hughes reworked Liberty. He added a fold of cloth that falls from her left elbow over her knee, gave her a larger cap and stood the shield more upright. Only 377,500 Philadelphia dimes of 1840 carry the new drapery, against 981,500 without it.

For any dime of these four years, start by looking below Liberty's elbow. No extra cloth there means a No Drapery coin. Then count the stars, or note that there are none. Every coin of the period weighs 2.67 grams of 90 percent silver and most survivors are well worn, so a No Stars dime with a clear date and a readable shield is a pleasing find.

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Seated Liberty Half Dime: No stars, then stars, then drapery

Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty half dime appeared in 1837, the same year as the dime. The first coins have no stars on the obverse, just Liberty and the date. Philadelphia struck 1,405,000 of them, in Large Date and Small Date forms. In 1838 the new New Orleans Mint made its first half dimes, 70,000 coins that also lack stars. The 1838-O is the key of the early years and a significant rarity in any grade. Only these two issues, the 1837 and the 1838-O, carry the No Stars design, so both are popular type coins.

Philadelphia added thirteen stars around Liberty in 1838 and struck 2,225,000 coins with Large Stars and Small Stars. In 1839 Philadelphia and New Orleans made almost the same number, 1,069,150 and 1,034,039. Late in 1840 Robert Ball Hughes reworked Liberty, adding drapery at her left elbow. Both mints struck both styles that year. Philadelphia made 1,034,000 without drapery and 310,085 with it. New Orleans made 695,000 without drapery and 240,000 with it, which makes the 1840-O With Drapery the scarcer of the pair.

All half dimes of these years are 15.5 millimeters across and weigh 1.34 grams of 90 percent silver. They are tiny and easy to lose, so many survivors show bends, holes or harsh cleaning. Check for stars first, then look below Liberty's elbow for the drapery.

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