Type 1, No Stars

Q. David Bowers (edited and updated by Mike Sherman): The first Liberty Seated dime variety is without obverse stars and closely parallels the half dime of the same era. Indeed, the mintage was accomplished similarly: pieces were struck only at the Philadelphia Mint in 1837 and only at the New Orleans Mint in 1838. Some 682,500 were struck at the former facility and 408,034 at the latter. The device consists of Miss Liberty seated on a rock, holding in her left hand a liberty cap on a pole, and holding a shield with her right. The date is below. As attractive as this cameo-like motif is to collectors today, Mint officials did not consider it to be desirable, and it was discontinued shortly thereafter.

The reverse displays an open wreath enclosing ONE DIME, with UNITED STATES OF AMERICA surrounding.

The type set enthusiast will find that examples of either issue are readily available in grades from Good through Very Fine or so, with the 1838-O being a bit more expensive. Extremely Fine and AU coins are also encountered with regularity, less so for 1838-O. Uncirculated pieces, when found, are nearly always dated 1837. Those dated 1838-O are considerably scarcer.

-- Reprinted with permission from "United States Coins by Design Types - An Action Guide for the Collector and Investor" by Q. David Bowers