A treasure hunter has left online communities astonished after showcasing a remarkable find unearthed in their garden. The discovery, an 1838-O Seated Liberty Dime without stars, has been described as an 'insane' and 'incredible' piece of history by fellow enthusiasts.
The Discovery
The user shared two images on Reddit with the title 'Found in my back yard.' The coin, appearing as a dulled silver, features a seated Lady Liberty on one side with the date 1838. The reverse side bears the inscription 'United States of America' around the edge, a wreath, and the words 'One Dime' with the letter O in the centre. The poster added a caption: 'Found this in my back yard while walking along the river bank.'
Expert Reactions
Commenters quickly identified the coin as an 1838-O Seated Liberty Dime, No Stars. According to the coin collecting website NGC, only 406,304 of these coins were minted, and they can fetch up to $2,300 (approximately £1,700) at auction. Examples in pristine condition have sold for as much as $33,000 (around £24,500).
Another coin collecting resource, libertseateddime.com, explains the historical significance: '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 website adds: 'This issue carries historical importance as the first dime to be produced at a United States branch mint.'
Online Buzz
Reddit users were quick to comment on the find. One wrote: 'Just a casual $500+ (£372) coin variety, no biggie.' Another added: 'This is a sweet coin, it’s the no stars variety which makes it even more desirable. 1838 seated liberty o dime, no stars in REALLY nice condition. Whoever lost this has to have dropped it when it was freshly minted.'
A third user remarked: 'Insane condition and key date. Don't clean and you should send it in for grading. I see you already wiped some of the reverse which detracts from the eye appeal, please don't do anymore damage.' They estimated the value at between $800 (£595) and $1,000 (£744).
The original poster responded: 'I’m not sure what you mean when you say "wiping the reverse". When I found this in the dirt all I did was clean it off with my fingers.' Another user advised: 'Wiping away dirt puts scratches on it that super high value coin collectors don’t like, I’d put it in something protective so it doesn’t get scratched.'
Someone else exclaimed: 'Wow… this is an incredible find! I’d go back and look for more with a metal detector. I’d protect it by putting it in a flip or an envelope for now. This is my favourite US dime of all time!' A different user simply wrote: 'So jealous. Wow.'
