In recently acquired this coin and wonder if its really the seated quarter 1842-O small letters? To me it looks like the small letter variety, but always good to get a second opinion. Moreover, the coin has been plugged so hard to see the O mint mark, but the small letter variety without the mint mark was only issued in proof and even more rare so assume it's from the New Orleans mint. And also, is the real marked value for this coin as high as my 2016 US Coin Digest catalog says? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ok, first I dont see an O mintmark. I see a repaired hole, that someone drilled into the coin, but no O. Second, It is a large date. Look at the top of the 1 in the date. Small date shows a flat top 1 while large date shows a curved top. Yours is a curved top.
No, that is an 1842-O large date quarter. While I agree that your coin was indeed minted in New Orleans, Evan8 has given a fine summary of the difference between the small and large date varieties. Also, on the small date, the bottom of the 8 is raised somewhat above the bottom of the 1.
Ok thanks. I guess I see it now. Odd how the filled hole looks like a giant O mintmark. Maybe it's just the pics?
Thank you all for figuring this out! Isn't it strange when you really want your argument to go in a certain direction ($500 instead of a $35 valuation in this case, you sort of lean towards your "truth" and somewhat ignore arguments against your "truth"? I think that's called bias. Clearly see that this is a large date now, because of the 1 and the 8 as mentioned above. I should have done my homework better before buying this coin, even though it was sold as a small date variety. Luckily I only paid $25... Have a nice day you all! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The bottom serif of the 1 on Small Date 1842-O is the width of 1-1/2 to 2 denticles. The bottom serif of 1 on Large Date 1842-O is the width of 3 denticles.
