1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 2,012,764 made
- Mintage
- 2,012,764
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 13.36 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 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 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.3866 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Not by date: 2 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3866 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1842 are scarcer?
- The 1839 at 100,000, the 1841 at 310,000, the 1845 at 589,000, plus 4 more. So the 1842 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 2,012,764.
What to check on your 1842
- 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 is the benchmark for Fine. Check the high points of Liberty's knees and breast.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1842
Philadelphia ramped up hard in 1842: 2,012,764 coins, about 6.5 times the 1841 run. In 1843 the figure was 3.8 million.
It was the big producer of the year, well ahead of 1842-O (203,000) and 1842-O (754,000).
Across Philadelphia's 56 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1882 with 4,400 made. The 1842 is one of the easier ones. Within the 1840s it's 13th smallest of 21, between the 1844-O (2 million) and the 1845-O (2.1 million).
Gobrecht's seated half and New Orleans output (1839 to 1852)
The Seated Liberty half dollar arrived in 1839. The earliest coins lack drapery at Liberty's elbow, while later 1839 coins show the added folds of cloth. From 1840 New Orleans produced halves every year of the period, often outstripping Philadelphia, with the mint mark below the eagle. New Orleans struck 3,180,000 in 1848 while Philadelphia made only 580,000.
Varieties include the scarce 1842-O small date and the 1846 with a 6 punched over a horizontal 6. After gold was found in California, the silver in these coins became worth more than face value. Many were melted or exported. Philadelphia struck only 227,000 in 1850, 200,750 in 1851 and 77,130 in 1852, making the 1852 the scarcest Philadelphia date of the period.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with HALF DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes and IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Half Dollar (1839–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1842 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2,012,764 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 13.36 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3866 troy oz (12.024 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1842 Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 2,012,764 | Circulation strike | 0.3866 oz |
| 1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 203,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3866 oz |
| 1842-O Seated Liberty Half Dollar (Medium date, large letters variety) | 754,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3866 oz |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.