Vic's Picks
25c SEATED LIBERTY, NO DRAPERY 1838-40


Obverse
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Reverse
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Coin Details

  

Set Details
Origin/Country: United States
Design Description:
Item Description: 25C 1838 No Drapery
Grade: PCGS XF 45
Owner: EZ_E
 
Winning Set: Vic's Picks
Date Added: 4/19/2008
Research: Currently not available

Owner's Description

A $531 purchase from Animasticus Coins, Mark Hooten, on 4-13-08.<br /><br />******************************<br />1838 QUARTER DOLLAR -<br />SEATED LIBERTY<br />******************************<br /><br />Mintage:<br />Circulation strikes: 466,000<br />Proofs: estimated 5<br /><br />Designer: Obverse by Thomas Sully, executed by Christian Gobrecht; Reverse by Christian Gobrecht<br /><br />Diameter: ±24.3 millimeters<br /><br />Metal Content:<br />Silver - ±90%<br />Copper - ±10%<br /><br />Weight: ±103 grains (±6.7 grams)<br /><br />Edge: Reeded<br /><br />Mintmark: None (for Philadelphia, PA) below the eagle on the reverse<br />--------------------------------------------------------------<br />Mark's enthusiastic description:<br /><br />It’s commonly accepted among those who collect by Red Book (Guide Book of U.S. Coins) standards that there are five “varieties” (more correctly, subtypes) of seated Liberty quarter dollars minted from 1838 through 1891. I beg to differ, however, since there are two distinct subtypes found in the year 1840 alone. Indeed, the 1838-1840 “no drapery” subtype is THE unique transitional variety of the seated Liberty effigy in the period. This rendition of Liberty is uniquely Gobrecht’s, with a completely natural flow of Liberty’s chiton, and a lovely, open face of Liberty, whose head is naturally oblong, having not yet been re-shaped into a spheroid by Hughes. Liberty herself is also more slender on the“no drapery” pieces versus the “with drapery” pieces of late 1840(through 1891). “No drapery” pieces scarcely survive, despite what mintage figures may suggest, with nearly a million minted at Philadelphia in 1838 and ’39, and almost 400k minted in New Orleans in 1840. This denomination was largely hoarded and melted in the years of 1849-1853, and again in the Civil War years. The combination of low survival and a strong demand for “no drapery” transitional pieces of 1838-40, makes it tough to find early seated quarters. Add to that the long-standing practices of removing toning from silver coinage, and it makes finding original-skinned, well preserved pieces, exceptionally difficult.<br /><br />My eyes bugged out upon seeing this coin for the first time. It came to me raw, which is how I’d have preferred it to remain in my collection, but my concerns for its long-term survival and my desire to include it in this set compelled me to submit it for grading. Such an original piece is vastly under-valued among collectors, and I feel lucky to have obtained it for the going AU price! Crusty, colorful, and stunningly original is how I’d typically describe this rare beauty. It grades XF only due to the presence of some graffiti above the Phrygian cap among the denticles. The most desirable circulated example I have ever encountered.

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