The 1830s and early 1840s was a period of improvement, technological advancement, and creative experimentation at the United States Mint. The Coinage Act of 1834 raised the silver-to-gold weight ratio from its 1792 level of 15:1 to 16:1 and lowered the gold content in the quarter eagle ($2.50), half eagle ($5.00), and eagle ($10.00) to discourage the export and melting of them. In 1836, the steam coin press was installed in the U.S. Mint, dramatically improving the number of coins capable of being struck over what screw presses could produce. And, by 1840, the design of nearly every denomination had either been modified or almost completely redesigned.
1842 is a distinctive year for experimentation at the United States Mint. Across 10 denominations and the four mintmarks, no less than 32 subvarieties were created with some combination of either a small or large date and small or large letters on the reverse. The reasons for enlarging these features predominantly on 1842 coinage have yet to be discovered but may have been to improve the striking up of the coin or enhance its appearance. Nonetheless, many of these subvarieties are relatively easy to acquire, some are quite challenging, and two in particular are nearly impossible to collect. Let’s discuss some of the 1842 date and letter size pairings.
Reverse of 1839. Click image to enlarge.
Click image to enlarge.
Click image to enlarge.
The 1842 Half Eagles were struck at the Philadelphia, Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans Mints, and have the distinction of providing more subvarieties contingent on mintmark, date, and letter variations than any other denomination struck that year. All are somewhat difficult to acquire in decent condition but the 1842-D Large Date and 1842-C Small Date stand out as particularly tough. The total mintage struck at Dahlonega is 59,608, however it appears that far fewer with the large date have survived (less than 100), making it the second-rarest Dahlonega half eagle after the 1861-D. The total 1842 mintage at the Charlotte Mint was even less, at 27,432 with the small date the rarity at about 50 known specimens. It is the rarest half eagle from the “C” mint and the rarest collectible coin from the Charlotte Mint.
The rarest 1842 business-strike subvariety is the Liberty Seated Small Date, Small Letters Half Dollar from Philadelphia. First discovered relatively recently in 1998, it combines the small date logotype (which started in 1839) with the Small Letters “Reverse of 1839” (used from 1839 through 1841). Although the total mintage for Philadelphia-mint 1842 Half Dollars is a robust 2,012,764, only four Small Date, Small Letters examples are known to exist at this time, the finest of which graded MS64 by PCGS. The 1842-O Small Date, Small Letters, while not nearly as rare, is a scarcity in its own right with a mere 100 examples estimated to exist.
One of the greatest of all rarities in American numismatics is the proof-only 1842 Small Date Quarter. The Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints both struck quarters with small and large dates. The Large Date subvarieties from each mint are relatively attainable. It is the proof-only 1842 Small Date Quarter (all Philadelphia-minted business strikes have a large date), however, that is the unequivocal rarity with a mere seven examples reported, the finest being graded PCGS PR65.