1843-O Seated Liberty Dime
As was the case with the half dime, the Seated Liberty theme was introduced on the United States dime in 1837. The Seated Liberty dime was minted every year until 1891.
The obverse shows Miss Liberty seated on a rock supporting the Union Shield with her name on it. The figure is reminiscent of Britannia as seen on British coinage, just as Mint Director Robert M. Patterson envisioned. The reverse shows the words "ONE DIME" encircled by a wreath and the legend "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA".(1)
Seated Liberty dime production started out with a bang at the New Orleans Mint, beginning with more than 400,000 struck in 1838, and surpassing 2 million coins in 1841 and in 1842.(2)
By 1843, demand for small silver coinage dropped off enormously, resulting in much smaller mintages. Only 150,000 dimes were struck in New Orleans in 1843, its second lowest mintage of the antebellum era.(3)
Because of its scarcity, collectors have long been drawn to the 1843-O Seated Liberty dime. It is virtually unobtainable in Mint State condition, but even examples with light to heavy wear have recorded huge gains consistently over time. Regardless of grade, this coin is a blue chipper.
A characteristic of the 1843-O dime is that most of them are weakly struck. When an example with relatively sharp details goes up for sale, it stimulates more than its share of interest. It’s not often collectors have the opportunity to compete for an 1843-O with above average eye appeal.(4)
| Estimated survivors in all grades: 200 ?
The survivor estimate from PCGS represents an average of one or more experts' opinions as to how many examples survive of a particular coin in all grades. Survival estimates include coins that are raw, certified by PCGS, and certified by other grading services. Learn more at PCGS. |
| PCGS Rarity Scale: 7.0 ?
The 'PCGS CoinFacts Rarity Scale' assesses the relative rarity of all U.S. coins, based on estimated surviving examples. The scale runs from 1.0 to 10.0. The higher the number, the rarer the coin.
Learn more at PCGS. |
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| Trendline Avg = 24.55 | BETTER |
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Sources
1. Taxay, Don. The U.S. Mint and Coinage. New York, NY: Sanford J. Durst Numismatic Publications, 1966.
2. Stack's Bowers Galleries. 1843-O Liberty Seated Dime. Aug 2015 Auction.
3. Heritage Auctions. 1843-O 10C. Jan 2011 Auction.
4. NGC. 1843 O 10C MS.
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Coin Images by Stack's Bowers Galleries.
