Bill Jones' Type Set Excluding Modern Issues
H10c SEATED LIBERTY, WITH DRAPERY (1840-59)

Owner Comments:

In 1840 officials at the Philadelphia hired Robert Ball Hughes as an engraver. Hughes’ first assignment was to revamp the Liberty Seated designs that appeared on all of the silver coins. Hughes’ most notable change was the addition of a large piece of cloth, a drapery, that hangs from Ms. Liberty’s right arm (left arm to the observer). Upon closer examination Hughes’ handing of Ms. Liberty’s body and the folds in her gown are less artfully rendered. Hughes made the fewest changes to the half dollar which reflects much of Gobrecht’s original design.

The coin displayed above is a rare 1858 half dime in Proof. After the large cent was discontinued in 1857, there was a large upswing in interest in United States coins. Mint Director, James Snowden, noticed this and began to offer Proof coins on a regular basis for the first time in 1858. Prior to that date, Proof coins had been made largely for diplomatic and internal mint purposes. They were not offered to collectors on a systematic basis.

The number of 1858 Proof half dimes that has survived has been estimated to be 140 pieces. Most of them are not as nice as this piece, which is graded PR-64.