1838 Partial Drapery

The 1838 Partial Drapery dime is the rarest of the three Philadelphia varieties from the opening year of the Stars subtype, and it occupies a peculiar place in the design's evolution. Liberty's left elbow on this coin shows a partial fabric fall, less developed than the full drapery that Robert Ball Hughes would introduce in mid-1840 but unmistakable against the clean elbow seen on the standard Large Stars and Small Stars dies. The variety is a die accident or trial rather than a sanctioned design change. Philadelphia continued to produce No Drapery coins through 1839 and into the first half of 1840 without revising the hub, which makes the Partial Drapery an isolated 1838 anomaly that points forward to a modification still two years away. It shares the combined 1838 Philadelphia delivery of roughly 1,992,500 pieces with its two Stars siblings.

Authentication starts at the elbow and stays there. The partial drapery shows as a short, irregular fold of fabric falling from Liberty's left elbow (the viewer's right side as the coin is held obverse-up), and it must be present and unambiguous to support the attribution. A weak strike that softens the elbow detail without showing actual fabric does not qualify. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, both attribute the variety, and reputable certified examples are the safest path for any buyer above the lowest grades. The 2.67 g weight standard from the Mint Act of January 18, 1837 applies as it does to every pre-Arrows Seated dime. Most certified survivors live in the VF through XF range, with AU coins genuinely scarce and Mint State coins rare.

For a collector, the Partial Drapery is a variety-set acquisition more than a date-set one. Type-set builders working a single 1838 Stars No Drapery entry almost always satisfy the slot with the more available Large Stars, leaving this variety to specialists chasing all three 1838 subtypes or to early-Seated researchers documenting the hub-evolution arc. Acquisition opportunities are episodic; the variety surfaces a few times per year at major specialist sales and rarely turns up in general auction venues. Price spread over the standard Large Stars stays meaningful at every grade band and widens sharply in AU and Mint State. The Variety classification on the site reflects that reality accurately, and certified attribution from one of the major grading services is essentially required for confident trading. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the No Stars to Stars to Drapery transitions, and the series' production arc, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.