After the first year of production for the Liberty Seated Dime series, the obverse design would be altered with the addition of thirteen stars. This new design would be featured on all 1838-dated coins struck at the Philadelphia Mint, however, the coins struck at the New Orleans Mint would not see the new design until the following year.
The reason for the delay in introducing the design at the New Orleans Mint was because the obverse dies with no stars had already been prepared by the Philadelphia Mint and sent to New Orleans before the design change was authorized. Thus, it was more economical to place these dies into production and wait until the following year to implement the design change.
The 1838-O “No Stars” Liberty Seated Dime (Buy on eBay) had a mintage of 406,034 pieces. While this might seem a reasonably large quantity, virtually this entire number was released into circulation, making uncirculated examples rare.
This issue carries historical importance as the first dime to be produced at a United States branch mint.
Coin Specifications
- Designer: Christian Gobrecht
- Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Weight: 2.67 grams
- Diameter: 17.9 mm
- Edge: Reeded
