Series Spotlight - Liberty Seated Dollars 1840-1873

Informative and educational articles from some of the hobby's leading numismatists

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Highlighting one of the many
important coin series in
United States coinage history

Liberty Seated Dollars
1840-1873

HISTORY

         The Liberty Seated Dollar was first minted to circulate for commerce in 1840; by 1853 the price of silver, which had been rising since 1850, had increased to the point that the silver content was worth substantially more than the value of the dollar. This led to hoarding and melting as profiteering forced shortages continuing well into the 60s. The No Motto type was minted from 1840 to 1866, although there is no record of the 1866 in the Director's Report. The Motto "In God We Trust" was added in 1866 and ran through 1873. There are three very significant dates in this series: the 1866 No Motto; the 1870 S; and the 1873 S.

MINTS

         Liberty Seated Dollars were produced at the following mints: Philadelphia, New Orleans, Carson City, and San Francisco. However, the bulk of the output was completed at the Philadelphia Mint from 1840-73. New Orleans minted coins in 1846, 1850, 1859-60. Carson City issued coins in 1870-73. San Francisco struck coins in 1859, 1870, 1872-73.

TERMINOLOGY

No Motto/With Motto - The Liberty Seated Dollars' two basic designs. The first issue in 1840 revealed an open field No Motto Reverse. In 1866 the Motto "In God We Trust" was added above the Eagle.

RECOMMENDED REFERENCES

Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and Colonial Coins, by Walter Breen

Official Guide to Coin Grading and Counterfeit Detection, by John Dannreuther

Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States, by Q. David Bowers

Photograde, by James F. Ruddy

Series Stats

Series
Liberty Seated Dollars

Series Run
1840-1873

Designer
Christian Gobrecht

Weight
26.73 grams

Net Weight
.77344 ounces pure silver

Composition
.900 silver
.100 copper