Gobrecht's Liberty Seated design came last to half dollars, three years after its introduction to dollars, two years after it first appeared on dimes and half dimes, and a year after it was first seen on quarter dollars. Half dollars since 1836 had displayed a Gobrecht reworking of the old design by John Reich, with a capped bust of Liberty on the obverse and eagle on the reverse. The reverse design was retained with slight modifications; in 1842; the size of the reverse motto increased notably, a change that would remain until the motif was retired in 1891.Of vital importance to type collectors, the No Drapery design was used exclusively in 1839, and for only a portion of that year. Breen once called any Mint State example "prohibitively rare," and gems are even more so. An MS-65 grade has been assigned on just three occasions.

The example to the left was sold by Stack's Bowers Galleries in the Larry H. Miller Part 2 Collection, where it realized $138,000.