1842 Large Date

The 1842 Large Date is one half of a documented date-size variety pair, the second such pair in the Liberty Head eagle series after the 1839 hub change closed out the Type of 1838. Catalogers separate 1842 Philadelphia output into two punch logotypes, with the Large Date carrying noticeably taller digits and a crosslet 4 distinguished by a small vertical bar at the right end of the numeral, while the Small Date uses thinner, more compactly spaced figures. Production sequencing places the Large Date in the latter portion of 1842, drawn from the combined annual mintage of 81,507 pieces struck across both punches; specialists estimate the Large Date accounts for roughly two-thirds of survivors and the Small Date the remaining third. The Key Date designation reflects how thinly the survivor pool is spread across either variety: PCGS estimates roughly 100 to 200 examples extant for the Large Date across all grades, the bulk in circulated condition, with Mint State coins barely cresting single digits.

Variety attribution is the dominant authentication question and drives the entire premium structure for the year. The Large Date logotype shows substantially heavier digits with the crosslet 4 as the unambiguous diagnostic; the Small Date is identified by lighter, more uniformly proportioned numerals lacking the crosslet feature. Misattribution between the two varieties is the most common error encountered with raw examples, since dealers unfamiliar with the punch differences sometimes default to whichever variety carries the lower current premium. Strike quality on the Large Date tends toward better-than-average for early Type 1 No Motto Philadelphia output, with most coins showing clean radial detail on the obverse stars and acceptable curl definition behind Liberty's ear. Standard physical authentication applies: 16.718 grams, 27 mm, specific gravity near 17.2, with cast counterfeits identifiable by edge seams and the granular field texture characteristic of pressure-poured reproductions.

Market behavior for the Large Date has shifted measurably over the past decade, with Doug Winter noting increased availability attributed to repatriation from European bank holdings. Choice AU examples surface at major auction venues with enough regularity that a Type 1 specialist can build a representative pair against the Small Date counterpart, with combined Choice AU acquisition costs running in the mid-four-figure range per Winter's recent commentary. Mint State pieces, by contrast, remain genuinely rare: condition census places eight to nine legitimate Uncirculated coins in the population, with two to three at the MS63/MS63+ level and a single PCGS MS65 anchoring the top of the grade pyramid. For Type 1 No Motto collectors and 1842 variety specialists alike, the Large Date offers the more accessible entry into the year's two-coin set while still delivering meaningful conditional scarcity. For broader context on the design progression and No Motto subseries, see the Liberty Head Eagle series history.