100 Top Liberty Seated Dime Varieties
Top 100 #19 1841-O Fortin 102

Owner Comments:

Transitional Large O Closed Bud Reverse from 1840 is paired with an 1841 obverse die - 1841 New Orleans Obverse 1 was used to strike both Large and Small O transitional Closed Bud dimes in early 1841. I am not aware of Obverse 1 being paired with Open Bud reverse dies. The obverse has been well struck on the few high grade Closed Bud examples that exist. Reverse A is the left over 1840-O Reverse (A) die which was previously shown to be in a late die state during it usage in 1840. In this final die state, Reverse A is badly cracked with numerous die cracks from the rim to the letters in the legend.

Cherrypicking either an example of the Large or Small O Closed Bud can also be accomplished by studying either the obverse or the reverse dies. Since the same obverse die was only used with the transitional reverses, its date, which is farther left than on any other 1841 obverse, can be an important diagnostic. The differences between an Open and Closed Bud Reverse is obvious in higher grades. In lower grades, one must examine the position of the lower left wreath leaf with respect to (U)NITED.

I consider both the Large and Small O transitional Closed Bud dimes to be key coins in the Major 100 Seated Dime Variety set.

Plate Coin; The plate coin is currently the second finest known example of the 1841-O Large O Closed Bud transitional variety.