Seated Liberty Silver Dollar

The Seated Liberty silver dollar was issued from 1840 to 1873. The name is derived based on the design that was created by Christian Gobrecht. Lady Liberty is seated, holding the Union Shield. On the reverse is a bald eagle holding arrows in one claw and an olive branch in the other. The eagle has the Union Shield on its chest.

The Seated Liberty silver dollars were minted in larger quantities than the very sparsely minted Gobrecht Dollar that preceded it. They were used in general circulation until 1853 when the silver was valued more than the face value of the coin. The coin continued to be minted mainly as a trade coin to be used in the Orient, and this ended in 1870 when silver was valued lower, making the dollar able to be put back in circulation.

There were several mint marks on the Seated Liberty silver dollar. The mark CC on some of the coins designate that they were minted in the Carson City Mint in Nevada, the P were minted in the Philadelphia Mint, the O mintmark coins were minted in New Orleans while the coins marked S came from the San Francisco Mint. The mintmarks were under the eagle’s talons on the reverse.

This series has some outstanding rarities. The most valuable coin is the 1870 S, with only 12 to 15 known to exist. The rarest and most unusual is a single coin dated 1851 and marked with an O. This coin was struck under unknown and very mysterious circumstances.