Early American Silver Coinage | Seated Liberty Series | Philadelphia Mint | 19th-Century Collectible
 
 
Offered for sale is an 1838 United States Seated Liberty Dime, an early American ten-cent silver coin dating to the nineteenth century.
 
Minted during the presidency of Martin Van Buren, this coin represents the early years of the Seated Liberty design, which would remain a prominent feature of United States silver coinage for decades.
 
The obverse features Liberty seated upon a rock, holding a staff topped with a liberty cap and a shield at her side. Thirteen stars surround the design, representing the original American colonies.
 
The reverse features the denomination "ONE DIME" enclosed within a wreath, although extensive circulation wear has removed much of the original detail.
 
This particular example exhibits substantial wear, extensive surface scratches, dark toning, and considerable loss of design definition.
 
The photographs depict the actual coin offered for sale.
 
Historical Background
The Seated Liberty dime was introduced in 1837, replacing the Capped Bust dime.
Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the Seated Liberty series became one of the longest-running designs in American coinage, continuing through 1891.
 
The 1838 issue is particularly interesting because it belongs to the early period of the series. Philadelphia examples from this year feature thirteen stars surrounding Liberty, a design modification introduced after the original 1837 No Stars issue.
 
The 1838 Philadelphia dime had an original reported mintage of approximately 1,992,500 coins.
Unlike modern circulating American dimes, this historic issue was manufactured from 90% silver.
 
Design Features
Obverse – Front
Seated representation of Liberty facing left.
Liberty holding a staff topped with a liberty cap.
Shield positioned beside Liberty.
Thirteen stars surrounding the seated figure.
Date "1838" beneath the design.
Artwork attributed to Christian Gobrecht.
 
Reverse – Back
Central inscription "ONE DIME."
Original wreath design, now largely worn away.
Plain denomination arrangement without an eagle.
Reeded edge, as originally manufactured.