1854-O Liberty Seated Quarter Dollar - Crumbled Die Obverse

by Greg Johnson

The 1854-O Crumbled Obverse Die (Briggs Obverse 3) is an interesting and very scarce variety. It is much, much harder to find than the 1854-O Huge O, but much less expensive when one does locate an example. Most examples seem to be in VF – XF condition with the finest known in AU condition and the finest certified an XF. It is not well known, because of the scarcity of the variety, that there are distinctly identifiable die states.

In its earliest states the date appears very nearly normal and the only distinguishing feature is the misshapen right arrow (Figure 1). Later die states show increasing deterioration in and around the date. The 4, in particular, is nearly completely filled in the latest die states (Figure 2).