1841 Seated Liberty Half Dime
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 1,150,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,150,000
- 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 1841 Seated Liberty Half Dime worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
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 1841 Seated Liberty Half Dime rare?
- Somewhat. 1,150,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1841 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 1841 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.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1841 are scarcer?
- The 1846 at 27,000, the 1840 (With Drapery) at 310,085, the 1844 at 430,000, plus 3 more. So the 1841 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1841 Seated Liberty Half Dime coins were made?
- 1,150,000.
What to check on your 1841
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- 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.
The story of the 1841
Philadelphia made 1,150,000 in 1841, up from 1 million in 1840. In 1842 the figure was 815,000.
1841-O came to 815,000, so neither mint's 1841 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1843 (1,165,000) and the 1856-O (1,100,000).
Across Philadelphia's 39 Seated Liberty Half Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1867 with 8,000 made. The 1841 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1840s it's 14th smallest of 18, between the 1840 (1 million) and the 1843 (1.2 million).
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 | 1841 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,150,000 |
| 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 1841 Seated Liberty Half Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1841 Seated Liberty Half Dime | 1,150,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0388 oz |
| 1841-O Seated Liberty Half Dime | 815,000 | 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.