Presenting the Finest Known 1842-O Liberty Seated Dime NGC MS65. Tied for the finest known at both NGC and PCGS. Please contact me by email or telephone 1-941-291-2156 to reserve this great coin.

1842-O 10C NGC MS65. This Southern branch mint, Gem 1842-O Liberty Seated Dime gleams with bright mint luster. Tied for the finest known at both NGC and PCGS, the coin has extremely clean surfaces with virtually no visible abrasion marks or other distractions. Because it is toned a delicious rose and silver with gold and gray highlights, the coin is clearly original. It is also well struck with full details on Liberty’s head, the centers of the stars, the leaves of the wreath, and the dentils on both sides.

Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the obverse depicts Liberty seated, looking over her shoulder to the left. She balances the Union Shield inscribed LIBERTY with her right hand and holds a staff on which is placed a Phrygian cap in her left. There are seven stars to the left and six to the right interrupted by her head and the capped pole. The dated is below. The reverse shows the denomination written in two words surrounded by an open laurel wreath. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is at the edge. Dentils are around the periphery of both sides of the coin.

The first Liberty Seated dime had no stars on the obverse. It was inspired by Gobrecht’s silver dollar of 1836. The second variety has stars on the obverse and no drapery at Liberty’s elbow. In 1840 drapery was added from Liberty’s elbow, creating the third variety of which the present coin is an example.

The New Orleans Mint was authorized in 1835 by President Andrew Jackson, hero of the battle of New Orleans. The bill that Jackson signed also authorized the mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega. William Strickland, a Philadelphia architect designed all three branch mint buildings. The New Orleans Mint building was made in the solid, bulky Greek Revival style of architecture. It was the largest of the three branch mints and located at major port of entry. Unfortunately Strickland did not account for the soft ground around the site. Because of it, the building had to undergo numerous repairs throughout its history.

Authorized to produce gold and silver, the New Orleans Mint struck quarter eagles and dimes in 1839. It operated from 1838 to 1909. In that time period 427 million silver and gold coins with the O mintmark were coined. By the mid 1850’s denominations made in New Orleans included three-cent silver pieces, half-dimes, dimes, quarters, half dollars, silver dollars, gold dollars, quarter eagles, three-dollar pieces, half eagles, eagles, and double eagles. The first deposit was of Mexican dollars which amounted to more than 32,400 dollars. The first coins struck were Liberty Seated dimes. Each year between the beginning of August and the end of November, the mint closed because of the annual outbreak of yellow fever.

Gobrecht was the third Chief Engraver at the United States Mint. He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania in 1785. His father was a German immigrant, and his mother traced her ancestry to the early settlers of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Gobrecht married Mary Hewes in 1818. One of his early positions was as an engraver of clocks in Baltimore. Later he went to Philadelphia where he became a banknote engraver. He invented a machine that allowed one to convert a three-dimensional medal into an illustration. This was an excellent job and Gobrecht was understandably reluctant to work for the Mint for less money than he was making at the engraving firm. In order to persuade him to leave, Mint Director Robert Patterson prevailed upon Chief Engraver William Kneass, who had had a stroke, to take less in salary so more money would be available to hire Gobrecht on a permanent basis. In 1826 Gobrecht did his first work for the Mint as an assistant to Kneass. After Kneass’ stroke, Gobrecht did all the die and pattern work for the Mint. He became Chief Engraver in 1840 and served until his death in 1844. He was famous for his Liberty Seated motif, which was used for all denominations of silver coinage including the half-dime, dime, quarter dollar, half dollar and silver dollar. He also designed the Liberty Head gold eagle, a motif that was also used on the half-cent, the cent, the gold quarter eagle, and the gold half eagle.

In its population report, NGC shows 2 1842-O dimes certified at the MS65 grade level with none finer. At PCGS there is only 1 certified in MS65 with none finer. These numbers do not account for crossovers or resubmissions. Here is an opportunity to obtain an example of the finest known 1842-O Liberty Seated dime, which would make a fine addition to any advanced numismatic cabinet.