1843-O Seated Liberty Quarter (1838-1891)
FS-501
Key Features
FS-501: Large O mintmark [Cross-ref: Briggs 3-F] Source: https://www.seateddimevarieties.com/FS_Seated_25C_1838_1855.php This robust design run bore witness to massive gold discoveries, Western frontier settlement, and deep wartime duress.
Intriguing History
By 1843, the country was mired in the Panic of 1837, one of the worst depressions the young nation had faced, with banks failing and hard money scarce; President Van Buren's unpopular response gave way in 1841 to William Henry Harrison's month-long presidency and then John Tyler's contested succession. This Seated Liberty quarter, in production for more than half a century, was struck during exactly this period. This one came from the New Orleans Mint, the Mint's southern branch on the Mississippi River.