1842 Small Date

The 1842 Small Date eagle is the scarcer of two date-punch varieties produced from a combined Philadelphia output of 81,507 pieces, and it carries Variety classification on the strength of die preparation evidence rather than separate mintage records. The Mint logged the year's eagles as a single delivery, but specialists have long separated the issue into Small Date and Large Date entries based on punch dimensions visible on the working dies. Surviving population studies place the Small Date at roughly half the frequency of its Large Date counterpart, making it the analytically meaningful target for collectors building Type 1 No Motto sets by die marriage rather than calendar year.

Authentication begins with the date itself. The Small Date uses the smaller punches carried over from the 1840 and 1841 working dies, paired with a Plain 4 whose crossbar terminates in a straight horizontal end rather than the serifed Crosslet 4 found on the Large Date. Numerals sit lower and tighter beneath the bust truncation, with character spacing noticeably more compressed than on the standard issue. Strike quality on surviving examples is generally above average, with most pieces grading VF to EF and showing complete star centrils; About Uncirculated coins are very scarce and confirmed Mint State examples are essentially unrecorded. Christian Gobrecht's Coronet portrait should weigh 16.718 grams at 27 millimeters with a specific gravity near 17.2, useful checks against gilt or cast counterfeits that periodically surface in unverified holders.

Demand for the Small Date concentrates among advanced collectors pursuing the early Philadelphia eagles by die variety, where the issue functions as a genuine condition rarity rather than a date-set placeholder. Population reports treat census data cautiously because some grading submissions historically combined the two 1842 varieties, so attributed holders carry meaningful premiums over generic 1842 listings. Auction appearances remain irregular, and the absence of a documented Mint State sale leaves valuation in higher grades anchored to extrapolation from EF and AU comparables. For those approaching the No Motto eagles seriously, the Small Date earns its catalog separation through diagnostic clarity and authentic scarcity rather than through marketing convention. See the Liberty Head Eagle series history.