1/2 Dime 'Seated Liberty Half Dime' with stars, no arrows

The stars were added to this design in 1838 at the direct instruction of Mint Director Robert Patterson, who felt the original starless version — struck only at Philadelphia for a single year — looked insufficiently American. That first starred issue was also the first U.S. coin struck at the New Orleans Mint, with those pieces identifiable by the O mintmark beneath the base.

In 1853, the Arrows type replaced this one when Congress mandated reduced silver content across the subsidiary coinage, effectively ending a 15-year run with no major design intervention.