Values
A Seated Liberty half dime’s market depends on the date, the mint mark, the type (stars, arrows, or legend), and the grade. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The G, VF, and MS-63 columns sit in the mintage chart below. Those figures are from the NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. They are a published guide, not an offer and not melt. A blank cell means that grade was not printed in this pass. This is not the Seated Liberty dime, quarter, or half.
A dealer looking at the coin in hand will beat a guide number. If you are trying to sell a pile of them, start with how to sell a coin collection and the Ohio coin dealer directory.
Key Dates
PCGS CoinFacts and NGC named no traditional key-date list for this series in this pass. This page will not invent one. Do not call 1846 a key because the printed count is smaller than 1845.
There is no key-date bolding on the mintage chart for that reason. A worn common date is still worn.
Errors
These are named varieties. This page will not invent a count.
Stars versus no stars versus arrows versus legend. Design changes on one half-dime series. NGC printed separate mintages when it split those types. They sit on their own rows. That is not an error.
This is not the Seated dime, quarter, or half. Those denominations are other series. This page will not mix them.
Compare the coin in hand to the NGC Coin Explorer Seated Liberty half dime page. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
No stars, stars, arrows, and the legend are the type changes, the same idea as the seated dime on a smaller coin. This page does not list every die marriage inside a type.
- No stars1837 has no stars on the obverse. Guides also separate large-date and small-date punches that year.
- StarsStars are added, then arrows mark the weight-change dates, then the stars return before the legend.
- Arrows at the dateArrows mark the lighter planchet. They are a type, not an error.
- Legend obverseUNITED STATES OF AMERICA moves to the obverse for the last type, through 1873.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Seated Liberty half dimes were struck at Philadelphia, New Orleans, and San Francisco. The counts below are the NGC Coin Explorer business-strike cells that printed a mintage in this pass.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | NGC ID | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1837 | P | 1,405,000 | 14311 | $60 | $275 | $1,350 |
| 1838 | O | 70,000 | 14314 | $275 | $1,750 | $13,000 |
| 1839 | O | 1,060,000 | 14320 | $40 | $90 | $2,400 |
| 1839 | P | 1,069,150 | 14319 | $40 | $85 | $490 |
| 1840 | O DRAPERY | 240,000 | 14327 | $85 | $400 | $27,000 |
| 1840 | P DRAPERY | 310,085 | 14326 | $55 | $175 | $910 |
| 1840 | P NO DRAPERY | 1,034,000 | 14321 | $35 | $75 | $490 |
| 1841 | O | 815,000 | 14329 | $50 | $175 | $2,150 |
| 1841 | P | 1,150,000 | 14328 | $35 | $55 | $465 |
| 1842 | O | 350,000 | 14331 | $35 | $215 | $2,800 |
| 1842 | P | 815,000 | 14330 | $35 | $60 | $400 |
| 1843 | P | 1,165,000 | 14332 | $35 | $60 | $410 |
| 1844 | O | 220,000 | 14334 | $80 | $650 | $11,500 |
| 1844 | P | 430,000 | 14333 | $40 | $75 | $525 |
| 1845 | P | 1,564,000 | 14335 | $35 | $60 | $400 |
| 1846 | P | 27,000 | 14336 | $1,100 | $2,150 | $36,000 |
| 1847 | P | 1,274,000 | 14337 | $35 | $60 | $400 |
| 1848 | O | 600,000 | 14340 | $40 | $95 | $1,380 |
| 1848 | P | 668,000 | 14338 | $35 | $60 | $570 |
| 1849 | O | 140,000 | 14344 | $40 | $370 | $4,750 |
| 1849 | P | 1,309,000 | 14341 | $35 | $60 | $500 |
| 1850 | O | 690,000 | 14346 | $35 | $110 | $1,880 |
| 1850 | P | 955,000 | 14345 | $35 | $60 | $400 |
| 1851 | O | 860,000 | 14348 | $35 | $100 | $875 |
| 1851 | P | 781,000 | 14347 | $35 | $60 | $450 |
| 1852 | O | 260,000 | 14350 | $50 | $200 | $2,750 |
| 1852 | P | 1,000,500 | 14349 | $35 | $60 | $400 |
| 1853 | O NO ARROWS | 160,000 | 14352 | $315 | $1,300 | $18,500 |
| 1853 | P NO ARROWS | 135,000 | 14351 | $55 | $220 | $1,080 |
| 1854 | O ARROWS | 1,560,000 | 14359 | $35 | $70 | $925 |
| 1854 | P ARROWS | 5,740,000 | 14358 | $35 | $60 | $365 |
| 1855 | P ARROWS | 1,750,000 | 14360 | $35 | $60 | $450 |
| 1857 | O | 1,380,000 | 14366 | $40 | $70 | $515 |
| 1858 | O | 1,660,000 | 14369 | $40 | $70 | $560 |
| 1859 | O | 560,000 | 14370 | $30 | $65 | $485 |
| 1859 | P | 340,000 | 14371 | $35 | $60 | $410 |
| 1860 | O | 1,060,000 | 14378 | $35 | $60 | $400 |
| 1860 | P | 798,000 | 14377 | $35 | $50 | $300 |
| 1861 | P | 3,360,000 | 14379 | $35 | $90 | $400 |
| 1862 | P | 1,492,000 | 14381 | $35 | $50 | $290 |
| 1863 | P | 18,000 | 14382 | $170 | $435 | $1,000 |
| 1863 | S | 100,000 | 14383 | $40 | $130 | $1,350 |
| 1864 | P | 48,000 | 14384 | $450 | $1,040 | $1,775 |
| 1864 | S | 90,000 | 14385 | $45 | $190 | $1,950 |
| 1865 | P | 13,000 | 14386 | $350 | $650 | $1,575 |
| 1865 | S | 120,000 | 14387 | $60 | $200 | $2,750 |
| 1866 | P | 10,000 | 14388 | $400 | $575 | $1,350 |
| 1867 | P | 8,000 | 14390 | $700 | $975 | $1,600 |
| 1867 | S | 120,000 | 14391 | $55 | $135 | $1,140 |
| 1868 | P | 88,600 | 14392 | $60 | $275 | $900 |
| 1868 | S | 280,000 | 14393 | $35 | $60 | $560 |
| 1869 | P | 208,000 | 14394 | $35 | $65 | $425 |
| 1869 | S | 230,000 | 14395 | $35 | $75 | $850 |
| 1870 | P | 535,000 | 14396 | $35 | $50 | $325 |
| 1871 | P | 1,873,000 | 14398 | $35 | $50 | $325 |
| 1871 | S | 161,000 | 14399 | $35 | $75 | $475 |
| 1872 | P | 2,947,000 | 14400 | $35 | $50 | $320 |
| 1873 | P | 712,000 | 14404 | $35 | $50 | $310 |
| 1873 | S | 324,000 | 14405 | $35 | $55 | $320 |
Mintage: NGC Coin Explorer, retrieved 2026-08-23. A blank year in the prose is a year NGC did not print. These are Explorer manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-23. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: NGC Coin Explorer. Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
NGC ID: NGC Coin Explorer listing number, retrieved 2026-08-21. A dash means this pass did not record an ID.
NGC left some years and some 1838-P splits blank, so those stay off the chart. The grade columns in the same box are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer.
Read the date. Read the mint mark. Look at the knee before you argue stars.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance.
A Seated half dime is historic .900 silver. Thickness 0.80 mm is the later legend type. This page will not copy that figure onto earlier types Numista does not measure. This is not the Seated dime, quarter, or half.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 15.5 mm |
| Thickness | 0.80 mm |
| Weight | 1.24 g (1860–1873 legend type) |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Thickness 0.80 mm, weight 1.24 g, and diameter 15.5 mm are the Numista 1860–1873 obverse-legend type page figures (N#17938). This page will not copy that thickness onto earlier types that page does not measure. This is not the Seated Liberty dime, quarter, or half.
Grading
A Seated Liberty half dime wears first on Liberty’s knee and head, and on the wreath. Stars versus legend is a design change, not a grade.
This is still Christian Gobrecht’s seated figure. The story is the five-cent silver half dime, 1837–1873. It is not the Seated dime, quarter, or half.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty’s knee and head | The raised knee and the head of the seated figure. | Those high points flatten while the rock can still look busy. |
| Wreath | The leaves and bow on the reverse. | The wreath goes slick first. HALF DIME in the wreath is the denomination, not a grade. |
| Date and mint mark | The numerals under Liberty, and the mint mark on the reverse when there is one. | A worn date is a worn half dime. Do not scrape the wreath to force a mint mark. |
| Stars versus legend | Stars around Liberty on early types; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on later types. | That is a design change, not wear and not an error. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call the half dime if you already know it.
- The high points are gone.
- The date may be a shadow.
- Do not invent a variety at this wear.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points are already slick.
- The design is an outline.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- Look at the type before you name a variety.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- The high points are flat.
- Leftover field detail does not save it.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail comes back.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to see it better.
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- The type is readable.
- The high points are not crisp.
- The date should be clear.
VF
Very Fine
The design is doing real work. The high points still decide.
- Leftover detail sits away from the knee and wreath.
- The center of the knee and wreath is still the worn spot.
- A pretty tone does not hide a slick high point.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on the same high points.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade.
- Trust the knee and wreath.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and almost lives on the same spots.
- A trace of rub on the knee and wreath.
- Luster may still sit in the fields.
- A bright slick high point is still rub.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster.
- No rub on the knee and wreath.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed coin is still chewed.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on the knee and wreath.
- Fewer marks in the fields.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic.
Gem
Gem Mint State
Clean high points and fields. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on the knee and wreath.
- Marks and luster, not a romance copied onto MS-63.
- The glossary has the numbers.
Proof Seated half dimes exist for part of the run. This page does not invent a PR price grid — NGC did not print one in the 2026-08-23 sheet used here. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations (BN, RB, RD) do not apply here. Those belong on copper coins such as the Indian Head cent. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
A Seated Liberty half dime is a United States five-cent silver coin with Liberty seated on the front and a wreath around HALF DIME on the back. Collectors mean the coins struck from 1837 through 1873. People also call it the Gobrecht half dime. Both names point at the same seated figure.
People like them because the type is small and the design changes give you something to sort. They are also easy to ruin. A wiped half dime looks “better” to a seller and worse to everyone else.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Mint introduced the Seated half dime in 1837. Early coins use stars or no stars. Arrows mark a weight change. Later coins move the legend to the obverse. The series ends in 1873. The Seated dime, quarter, and half are other series.
This page will not invent a shop list or a nickel story to fill the years between.
Design
Obverse: Liberty seated, stars or a legend around, and the date. Reverse: HALF DIME in a wreath, and the mint mark when the coin is not from Philadelphia.
Look at the knee, the wreath, and the date. Those spots go flat first. Stars versus legend is a type, not a grade.
People Also Ask
What years are Seated Liberty half dimes?
Circulation Seated Liberty half dimes were struck from 1837 through 1873. This chart is the NGC MS rows that printed a mintage. Years NGC left blank stay off the chart.
How much is a Seated Liberty half dime worth?
It depends on the date, the mint mark, the type, and the grade. The G, VF, and MS-63 columns in the mintage chart are NGC guide values from 2026-08-23, not an offer. A dealer looking at the actual coin will beat a guide number.
Is this the same page as the Seated dime?
No. The Seated Liberty dime, quarter, and half are other series. This page is the half dime only.
Why are some years missing?
NGC left those mintage cells blank in this pass. Those stay off the chart. This page will not invent a count.
What is stars versus legend?
Early coins use stars around Liberty. Later coins move UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to the obverse. That is a design change, not an error.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, not the story.
If you inherited a box, do not scrub the date to “see it better.” Keep them in the holders they arrived in, or in cheap cardboard flips, and take the box to a person who sees this series every week. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio. This site does not invent shop names to fill a paragraph.
Raw coins are fine. So are slabs. What is not fine is a coin that has been cleaned until the fields look like glass, then offered as “original.”
If you collect by type, one honest circulated legend half dime will teach you the knee and the wreath. For a later silver dime on this site, read the Mercury dime.
A Final Word
These coins reward people who slow down. Read the date. Read the mint mark. Leave the polish under the sink.
When you want a later silver dime, the Mercury dime is already here.