Rare American Coins and Silver Dollars Sitting at Liberty 1840-1873
The Liberty Seated Series Silver Dollar is impossible to complete in EM condition due to very small mintages and low survival rates. The series began as a slight variation on Christian Gobrecht’s original obverse design. The reverse of Gobrecht’s original soaring eagle was replaced by a modified design of John Reich’s Herald Eagle, which was first used on coins in 1807.
Robert Ball Hughes modified Gobrecht’s original obverse creation with the “name of decency.” He cut off part of his stone seat, made the freedom lettering on his shield more legible, and added more pleats to his left sleeve. He also added 13 stars to the front instead of placing them on the back.
It was first minted in Philadelphia, then New Orleans in 1846. The Liberty Seated was the last silver dollar minted before the 1873 Coinage Act. The 1873 Coinage Act stopped the production of silver dollars for domestic use and started the use of silver Exchange dollars for foreign trade.
The Coinage Law also put an end to private citizens being able to have their personal silver or gold minted in legal tender. The main source of silver before 1870 was from private citizens, and not much silver was normally brought in to mint.
By 1859, there was now a much better supply of silver from Comstock Lode, therefore the production of Liberty Seated dollars increased at the end of the series in 1871 and 1872. The commercial dollar bridged the gap between Liberty Seated and the silver dollar. Morgan. .
Total production from all Liberty Seated dollar trade strikes is 6,487,747. The Philadelphia Mint produced 5,465,463 of these coins. In fact, during 1871 and 1872, the Philadelphia mint minted a total of 2,179,300 coins, making them the most “common” in the series.
In 1851 and 1852, the Philadelphia Mint produced a total of just 2,400 coins. Branch mints only made Liberty Seated silver dollars for four years each, at the beginning of production in New Orleans and at the end of production in San Francisco and Carson City.
The New Orleans Mint raised a total of just 875,000 of these dollars. The New Orleans pieces have by far the highest mint state survival rates in the entire series due to the 1962-64 US Treasury release.
Between one and three fresh $ 1,000 mint-sealed bags from 1859-O and 1860-O were believed to have been found among Morgan and Peace silver dollar bags sold to the public during the 1960s.
The 1870-S seated dollar mintage is unknown. Estimates range from 25 to 300 pieces. Today’s confirmed population is just a dozen specimens. In fact, the best known 1870-S specimen is MS-62. 1870-S is considered the king of the Liberty Seated series.
1866 was the first year that American coins began to add the inscription “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Actually, this date is more common in MS condition than many earlier dates.
The Carson City mint produced a total of just $ 18,584 Liberty Seated during its four years of production. The 1870-CC accounts for 63% of the total mintage, making it the most “common” of the Carson City produced in this silver dollar series. A “few” examples of MS have appeared.
1873-CC is the second rarest date to 1870-S with a total mintage of 2300, and only one MS-64 was found. Because this series contains so many “plugs” and is much more expensive to purchase than the Morgan or Peace series, the Liberty Seated series has unfortunately not received much interest from collectors.