In 1837 the Half Dime was completely re-designed. The obverse was now showing a classical portrait of a seated liberty, an image which although somewhat unpopular at first, due to the resemblance to the British figure of Britannia, later became widely accepted and appeared on other U. S. coins as well. The reverse displayed an open wreath surrounding the words half dime encircled by United States of America. In 1837 13 stars were added to the obverse of the coin and in 1840 a drapery was added to the elbow. In 1853 arrows were added to both sides of the date but in 1856 the arrows were removed. In 1860 the legend 'UNITED STATES OF AMERICA' was moved to the obverse where the stars used to appear and the reverse was given a 'cereal wreath'.

Despite these many design varieties, including small changes in the wording and placement of stars and arrows, most of the albums consider only three major ones for collectors. The liberty seated half dime was minted in Philadelphia and New Orleans.

Since the U. S. Types coin folder considers three of these variations to be different types, my collection has specimens of each.    Two of the reverse variations are shown at right. I have an 1853 O example that cost $12 and is worth about $25. The 1857 example at left cost $11 and is now worth $22. And I have an 1862 example (that cost has been lost) and it is worth $25. Note the mint mark on the 1853 coin, which shows that it was made in New Orleans.