1859-O

The 1859-O Seated Liberty dime is one of the last two Stars With Drapery issues delivered from New Orleans, with 480,000 pieces struck the year before the 1860 Legend transition pulled the stars off the obverse. The figure outpaces the 290,000-piece 1858-O and represents the larger of the two final-year Stars branch deliveries from the Gulf Coast, but New Orleans dime mintages remained meaningfully smaller than Philadelphia output across the late 1850s. The coin sits at 2.49 grams on a 90-percent-silver planchet, with the O mintmark inside the wreath on the reverse and 13 stars circling Liberty on the obverse. New Orleans had been striking dimes since 1838, and the 1859-O closes out the long Stars subtype run at the branch alongside the much smaller 1860-O transitional issue, which would use the same Stars obverse one final year after Philadelphia had moved on.

Strike quality on the date is typical for late-period New Orleans dime production. The obverse usually comes up cleanly on Liberty's head, shield, and the upper stars, while wreath leaves and the central reverse soften on later die states. Most survivors fall in Good through Very Fine. Extremely Fine examples surface with patience, About Uncirculated coins require effort, and Mint State pieces above MS62 sit firmly in condition-rarity territory, with PCGS and NGC population reports thin in true gem grades. Authentication runs through the 2.49-gram weight standard, the 17.9-millimeter reeded edge, and the O mintmark placement; altered-mintmark counterfeits (an O added to a Philadelphia 1859) appear occasionally and typically miss the proper punch depth and lateral position seen on genuine branch examples. Greer documents the year's working die marriages, with date position and mintmark size variations carrying the standard attribution detail.

For collectors, the 1859-O reads as an attainable closing-act Stars With Drapery branch issue with historical anchor as the last full-year Stars dime from New Orleans before the 1860 Legend redesign. Circulated examples through Very Fine surface at modest premiums over generic Seated dime type pricing, and the date pairs naturally with the rarer 1860-O transitional anomaly for any specialist working the Stars-to-Legend boundary. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1860 Stars-to-Legend obverse transition, and the series' production arc, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.