By Dennis Hengeveld - from E-Gobrecht March 2008 Volume 4, Issue 3

Link to PART ONE: Dollars and Half Dollars

The seated quarter dollars had their production starting a year earlier in 1838. The series was just like the other seated series, except for the half dime and dollar, struck until 1891, when it was finally replaced a year later by a new design, made by Charles Barber. The design is not much different than the half dollar; the most notable difference is the denomination and size, as can be expected.

In my opinion, this series is the most difficult of the seated series to complete by date only. The long run of dates (continuously from 1838 to the end of the series in 1891) is not the main criteria for this; it’s the fact that many Philadelphia dates, especially the 1880’s dates, are very scarce in any grade. In Mint state, most coins including branch Mint issues, are available although earlier dates can be very scarce or (virtually unknown) in full Mint state; this especially the case for the branch Mint issues.

These branch Mint coins were struck at the same Mints as the Half Dollars, the San Francisco, New Orleans and Carson City Mints. As is the case with the other seated coinage series, branch Mint coins normally command a premium over a Philadelphia Mint issues, although again this is not the case.

As I said before, the series started in 1838, replacing the capped bust design in production since 1815. The first two dates were only struck at the Philadelphia Mint. These issues are common in grades up to EF-40, but command a nice premium and get scarcer in higher grades.

In gem grades, a coin is very rare and a trophy coin to most collectors. the design of these first two years is of the no drapery, type 1 design. this was changed in 1840 when drapery was added to the elbow of liberty.

Philadelphia Mint coins only exist as type 2 (with drapery). The New Orleans Mint first struck quarter dollars in 1840. Because the correct, with drapery dies were not received at the beginning of the year, production started using the old type 1 obverse design. During the year, the obverse die was replaced with the new obverse, thus creating two separate varieties for the 1840-O issue. The type 1 had a Mintage of 382,200 coins and the type 2 output for the year was 43,000 coins. Both command a premium over a common type coin of more than 100% and thus are not really interesting to date only collectors. (more…)

By Dennis Hengeveld

Collecting seated coins can be fun, rewarding, and above all very challenging. Not many people can afford both the time and cost to search, find, and have the opportunity to buy the hard to find coins which are included in every seated series due to the many dates and mintmarks included in the series. Examples could be the 1878-S half dollar and various Carson City coins. These coins, “stoppers” as they are called, are expensive and very hard to find, often causing collectors to fail in their final goal of completing a series they have specialized in for a long time.

Although I love seated coins, as a 19 year old I just can’t afford to complete any of the seated series in the grades I like, mainly AU50 to MS64 or higher in as original condition as I can find them. Of course, I might be able to buy those coins later in my life but I am not really the person who has the patience to buy coins for a set I know won’t be complete within an acceptable period time (“acceptable” for me is 8-10 years).

As you might guess, I had to find a solution. So, after buying my first certified seated coin (and my first seated coin anyway), which happened to be a wonderful and very original PCGS MS64 1871 Half Dime, I decided to try a very complete type set, with every single type in there (including coins with different weights but the same design). After buying my second Half Dime (1843 PCGS MS63 which after studying proved to be V-6a, the well-known repunched date) before buying any other seated coin, I got hooked to that series.

Yet, I already knew that the series was not possible to complete in both the time period in those grades I had in mind. So I searched for other solutions, with one of them described in this article: collecting the date-set; each date just one time without paying attention to mint marks. This technique is affordable and possible to complete, even for me with a limited budget.

In this article, all seated series, with the exception of the 20-cent series and the Trade Dollar (a series I personally do not consider a real seated type coin), are discussed. The 20-cent series is relatively easy but not fun to complete with only two business strike dates. Thus, for now, it is not included in this article. I will shortly describe the coins in the set and the difficulty of completing a date-set. For the first series of the seated type, this article will start with the highest denomination in the series, the Silver Dollar. (more…)

By Ken Cable-Camilleis E-Gobrecht 2008 Volume 4, Issue 1

The following is a collector value assessment of coins within the portion of the Liberty Seated series spanning the years 1837 through 1852, all denominations. The foregoing analysis is based on several factors, including but not limited to the PCGS Population/NGC Census Reports, various pricing guides, and extensive personally compiled data and statistics related to general market presence. This compilation indicates, based on my observations and research, what in the realm of mainstream numismatics could be the 25 most underrated Seated coins within this period.

My research suggests that presently there are no overpriced Seated coins dated prior to 1853. I also surmise that most of the dimes and quarters minted from 1840 through 1851 are dramatically undervalued in the mainstream market. While working from such a large sample space of dates and varieties within the five Seated denominations covering the 16-year span of 1837-52, it was a tough call to narrow the field down to 25 specific coins that have especially captured my attention.

The reader should bear in mind that the coins enumerated in this work are not all “classic rarities” because current pricing may have already taken their rarity into consideration. They are simply coins that have received too little attention, or coins that can be obtained relatively cheaply. Some of these coins may already be recognized by LSCC members or other numismatic specialists as having been overlooked. Their market values are not, however, reflected in the most influential price guides, especially the Coin Dealer Newsletter “Greysheet” Quarterly (CDNQ) which since 1992 seems to have been the predominant buyer guide for Seated material.

Another observation is that most certified coins of 1837-52 are “market graded” for their assigned grade. Therefore, I have taken into consideration that many Seated coins of this period that are certified MS60 to MS62 may actually have cabinet friction, obtrusive field abrasions or hairline scratches, poorly struck stars and areas within devices, or wear which is confused with poor strike. I have even seen Seated coins slabbed MS63 to MS65 for which I would assign technical grades in the AU range! Choice pieces seem to represent less than 25% of third-party-graded Seated coins from 1837 through 1852, and even some that have few blemishes are not fully struck (that is, all 13 stars, full head/shield details, full eagle features, and anything else that is supposed to be struck up). (more…)