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1839 No Drapery From Elbow Seated Liberty half dollar -- the scarcer first-year die state.
Condition drives the price — full breakdown below.
Note: a full grade-by-grade breakdown for this coin is still being compiled.
The very first Seated Liberty half dollars struck in 1839 lacked the drapery fold at Liberty's elbow that was added to the design partway through the year -- making No Drapery examples the scarcer of the two 1839 die states.
Worth roughly 4x the later Drapery From Elbow variety from the same year in the same grade, and a genuine first-year-of-type collectible.
Other dates and varieties in this series
What to check before you pay, specific to this date.
The same date runs from about $334 worn to $34,448 at the top of the scale — a 103× spread. Nearly all of that gap is condition, not the date on the coin, so work out where an example sits on the table above before deciding whether its asking price is fair.
A PCGS or NGC holder settles authenticity and grade in one go, which is most of what you're actually paying for at this level. The premium it adds is small next to the cost of being wrong about either.
Every Seated Liberty Half Dollar listed here is priced by an individual seller, so the same coin in the same grade can differ by a wide margin on any given day. Sort by price, check Metal Points and order history for a sense of the seller's record, and message them if the photos don't show enough to grade confidently.
About the 1839-P No Drapery From Elbow Seated Liberty Half Dollar
Value depends heavily on condition. A well-worn example brings closer to $334, while an uncirculated one can reach $34,448 or more.
The very first Seated Liberty half dollars struck in 1839 lacked the drapery fold at Liberty's elbow that was added to the design partway through the year -- making No Drapery examples the scarcer of the two 1839 die states.
For anything you believe is a key date or an error, professional grading protects both buyer and seller by settling condition and authenticity before money changes hands.
The rest of the series, with what each is worth at the top of the grade scale.
List it free on PeerMetals — flat 2.75% seller fee, zero listing fees, 1–3 day payouts.
