1838-O Liberty Seated Half Dime. No Stars. V-2. MS-64 (NGC).Outstanding and rare preservation for this conditionally challenging issue from the first year of New Orleans Mint coinage. Soft satin luster blankets surfaces that are lightly toned in iridescent champagne-apricot and powder blue. Striking detail is sharp overall, and the in hand appearance is expectably smooth for the assigned grade. In addition to its desirability as a first year New Orleans Mint issue, the 1838-O half dime is the only mintmarked issue of the brief Liberty Seated, No Stars design type. Examples are far scarcer than those of the 1837 No Stars issue, which is perhaps immediately evident by comparing the mintage figures of the two issues. The 1837 was produced to the extent of 1,405,000 coins, but the 1838-O has a much more limited mintage of 70,000 pieces. These figures tell only part of the story, however, as the 1837 was saved in considerable numbers as a first year issue. The 1838-O, on the other hand, was produced in a region of the country with little, if any numismatic activity during the 1830s and 1840s and, like all early New Orleans Mint issues, suffered a high rate of attrition through commercial use. Mint State coins are rare at all levels, as such, and our own Q. David Bowers accounts for only two or three <em>different</em> examples in MS-64 in his 2016 <em>Guide Book of Liberty Seated Silver Coins</em> published by Whitman. A fleeting bidding opportunity for the advanced collector of Liberty Seated or New Orleans Mint coinage.<p>The Valentine-2 die pairing of the 1838-O is attributable by a low date that slants up toward the base of the rock. This is a later die state example struck from a heavily rusted obverse. While close study will note traces of die rust in the obverse field, which shows up as a fine raised granular pattern, the heaviest rust evidence is on the lower portion of Libertys portrait from the rock, through the shield and extending to the legs. Evidence of far more minor die rust is present here and there around the reverse border. The heat and humidity around New Orleans took a mighty toll on this new branch mint, and in the first year, 1838, there was certainly a considerable learning curve on how to store and care for dies, as illustrated by the present example.PCGS# 4314. NGC ID: 232N.NGC Census: 3; with a single MS-65 finer at this service. The corresponding PCGS Population is 3/2 (MS-66+ finest).From the Henry Collection of Liberty Seated Half Dimes. Earlier ex Heritages ANA Signature Auction of July-August 2008, lot 1594; Joseph C. Thomas; Heritages sale of the Joseph C. Thomas Collection, April-May 2009 CSNS Signature Auction, lot 2196; Heritages Philadelphia Signature Auction of August 2012, lot 5071; Heritages CSNS Signature Auction of April 2017, lot 3097.
