1842 Seated Liberty Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 88,000 made
- Mintage
- 88,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.68 g
- Diameter
- 24.3 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 Quarter worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1842 is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 88,000 were made, 38th lowest of the 108 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1933 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1842 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no Philadelphia issue had a smaller mintage than the 1842.
- How many 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter coins were made?
- 88,000.
What to check on your 1842
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof (6 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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. The word LIBERTY on Liberty's shield is the classic test: fully visible in Fine, partly worn in Very Good, gone in Good.
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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1842
Output at Philadelphia slipped to 88,000 in 1842, from 120,000 the year before. In 1843 the figure was 645,600.
The other mint made far more that year: 1842-O alone came to 769,000, roughly 8.7 for every 1842. If you're checking a pile of 1842 coins, the mint mark is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1851-O (88,000) and the 1870 (86,400).
Across Philadelphia's 56 Seated Liberty Quarter issues, the hardest to find is the 1886 with 5,000 made. The 1842 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Among the 1840s issues, only the 1840-O, With Drapery had a smaller run.
Seated quarters before the 1853 weight cut (1838 to 1852)
Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty quarter replaced the Capped Bust late in 1838. The first coins have no drapery at Liberty's elbow. Extra folds of cloth were added in 1840, the same year the New Orleans Mint struck its first quarters in both styles. New Orleans then made quarters in most years of the 1840s, with the mint mark below the eagle.
After the California gold discoveries, silver rose in value against gold. Quarters became worth more as bullion than as money, so many were melted or shipped abroad. Philadelphia struck only 160,000 in 1851 and New Orleans just 88,000. The 1849-O, 1851-O and 1852-O are the scarce dates of these years. The 1842 small date exists only as a Philadelphia proof, while New Orleans struck both small and large dates that year.
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 QUAR. DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Quarter (1838–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1842 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 88,000 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.68 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1933 troy oz (6.012 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter | 88,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1933 oz |
| 1842 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof | 6 | Proof | 0.1933 oz |
| 1842-O Seated Liberty Quarter | 769,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1933 oz |
Mintage: United States quarter 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.