Seated Liberty Coinage: Series Overview from Half Dime to Dollar
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Short on time? The essentials
- The Seated Liberty design was engraved by Mint Chief Engraver Christian Gobrecht from a Thomas Sully and Titian Peale concept. It appeared on regular silver coinage from 1836 through 1891.
- Six denominations carried the design: the half dime (1837 to 1873), the dime (1837 to 1891), the twenty-cent piece (1875 to 1878), the quarter (1838 to 1891), the half dollar (1839 to 1891), and the silver dollar (1840 to 1873).
- Every regular-issue Seated Liberty coin is 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. That composition sets a metal floor on every common date regardless of wear.
- Coins were struck at Philadelphia (no mint mark), New Orleans (O), San Francisco (S), and Carson City (CC). The CC mark carries a real premium on nearly every date because of small mintages.
- Design subtypes within the series include No Stars, Stars, With Drapery, With Arrows, With Rays, and With Motto. Each subtype marks a specific weight change or design update the Mint made across the decades.
- Famous rarities include the 1870-S Seated Liberty dollar with roughly a dozen examples known, and the 1873-CC No Arrows dime that is famously scarce in every grade.
- The word LIBERTY on the shield banner across Liberty's body is the primary wear diagnostic. Coins with all seven letters visible qualify as Fine or better.
- Any Carson City coin above a modest grade must carry certification from an independent grading service before funds move, because CC strikes are heavily faked.
On this page
- The Seated Liberty design at a glance
- The design story: Christian Gobrecht at the Mint
- The six denominations and their years
- Composition and silver content by denomination
- Design subtypes across the series
- Mint marks: P, O, S, and CC
- The Carson City premium
- Series-wide key dates and rarities
- LIBERTY on the shield: the wear diagnostic
- Silver melt floor: worked math on one dollar
- Counterfeit warning on CC-mint issues
- How to identify what you actually have
- The cleaned coin trap
- What your Seated Liberty coin is probably not
- Seated Liberty coin FAQ
The Seated Liberty design at a glance
The Seated Liberty design is the longest-running silver coinage design in United States history. It appeared on most regular-issue silver coins from 1836 through 1891, a span of 55 years across six denominations.
The obverse shows Liberty seated on a rock in a flowing dress. Her right hand rests on a striped shield inscribed with the word LIBERTY on a diagonal banner. Her left hand holds a pole topped by a Phrygian cap, a classical symbol of freedom.
The reverse changed by denomination. Half dimes and dimes carry a wreath around the words HALF DIME or ONE DIME. Quarters, halves, and dollars carry a heraldic eagle clutching an olive branch and a group of arrows.
Every Seated Liberty coin struck for circulation is 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. That composition sets a hard metal floor on every common date, before any collector premium enters the picture.
The design story: Christian Gobrecht at the Mint
Mint Director Robert M. Patterson sought to modernize United States coinage in the mid-1830s. He engaged artists Thomas Sully and Titian Peale to create fresh designs. The seated figure of Liberty came from a Sully sketch.
Chief Engraver William Kneass began the engraving work but suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed. Christian Gobrecht joined the Mint in 1835 as an assistant engraver. He completed the design work and became Chief Engraver on the death of Kneass in 1840.
The design first appeared on the 1836 Gobrecht dollar, an experimental issue of very small mintage. In 1837 an adapted version reached circulation on the half dime and the dime. The quarter followed in 1838, the half dollar in 1839, and the regular-issue dollar in 1840.
The design outlasted its creator. Gobrecht died in 1844, but the Seated Liberty motif remained standard on United States silver coinage until Chief Engraver Charles E. Barber replaced it in 1892 with the Liberty Head design that collectors now call the Barber series.
The six denominations and their years
Six United States coins carried the Seated Liberty design. The table below sets the year range and the successor design for each denomination.
| Denomination | Face value | Years struck | Successor design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half dime | Five cents | 1837 to 1873 | Denomination abolished under the Coinage Act of 1873 |
| Dime | Ten cents | 1837 to 1891 | Barber (Liberty Head) dime, from 1892 |
| Twenty-cent piece | Twenty cents | 1875 to 1878 | Denomination abolished in 1878 due to public confusion with the quarter |
| Quarter | Twenty-five cents | 1838 to 1891 | Barber (Liberty Head) quarter, from 1892 |
| Half dollar | Fifty cents | 1839 to 1891 | Barber (Liberty Head) half dollar, from 1892 |
| Silver dollar | One dollar | 1840 to 1873 | Coinage Act of 1873 halted the silver dollar; Morgan dollar production began in 1878 after the Bland-Allison Act |
Sources: Wikipedia entries on the Seated Liberty dollar (1840 to 1873, mass 26.73 g), the Seated Liberty dime (1837 to 1891), and the twenty-cent piece (1875 to 1878, mass 5 g), cross-checked against the United States Mint historical composition record. Checked August 2026.
Composition and silver content by denomination
Every regular-issue Seated Liberty coin is a 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper alloy. The Coinage Act of 1837 set that fineness at .900 for United States silver, replacing the earlier .8924 fineness of the 1792 act.
The weight of each denomination changed twice during the series. In 1853 Congress reduced the weight of the half dime, dime, quarter, and half dollar. In 1873 Congress adjusted the weight again for the dime, quarter, and half dollar. The silver dollar and the twenty-cent piece kept a single weight throughout.
| Denomination | Composition | Diameter | Standard silver content per coin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Half dime | 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper | 15.5 mm | Approximately 0.0362 troy ounces of pure silver on the post-1853 standard |
| Dime | 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper | 17.9 mm | 0.07234 troy ounces of pure silver on the post-1873 standard shared with Barber, Mercury, and Roosevelt silver dimes through 1964 |
| Twenty-cent piece | 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper | 22 mm | 0.1447 troy ounces of pure silver per coin |
| Quarter | 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper | 24.3 mm | Approximately 0.1808 troy ounces of pure silver on the post-1873 standard shared with Barber, Standing Liberty, and Washington silver quarters through 1964 |
| Half dollar | 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper | 30.6 mm | Approximately 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver on the post-1873 standard shared with Barber, Walking Liberty, and Franklin silver halves |
| Silver dollar | 90 percent silver, 10 percent copper | 38.1 mm | 0.77344 troy ounces of pure silver per coin at a mass of 26.73 grams |
Sources: Wikipedia entries on the Seated Liberty dollar, the Seated Liberty dime, the twenty-cent piece, and the United States Mint historical composition record. Checked August 2026.
Design subtypes across the series
The Seated Liberty series is not one design. It is a family of subtypes that the Mint introduced over five decades to mark weight changes, motto additions, and small design updates.
The list below is the sequence a collector uses to place a coin within the series. Each subtype has a specific date range that varies slightly by denomination.
| Subtype | What changed | When it appeared |
|---|---|---|
| No Stars | The obverse field is plain, without stars around Liberty. Only the 1837 half dime, the 1837 Philadelphia dime, and the 1838-O dime carry this look. | 1837 and 1838-O only |
| Stars on obverse | Thirteen six-pointed stars around Liberty, commemorating the original colonies. Standard from 1838 through 1859 on the half dime and dime and through 1891 on the quarter and half dollar. | From 1838 (dime, half dime) and 1838 (quarter), 1839 (half dollar) |
| Drapery added | Extra folds of cloth added to Liberty's left elbow around 1840. The exact date varies by denomination. Coins struck before the change are called No Drapery. | Circa 1840, denomination by denomination |
| Arrows and Rays | Arrows beside the date and rays around the eagle marked the 1853 weight reduction on the quarter and half dollar. The rays appeared for one year only. | 1853 quarter and half dollar |
| Arrows at Date | Arrows on each side of the date marked the 1853 weight reduction on the half dime, dime, quarter, and half dollar. Arrows returned in 1873 and 1874 on the dime, quarter, and half dollar to mark a second weight change. | 1853 to 1855, and 1873 to 1874 |
| Legend Obverse | In 1860 the Mint replaced the stars on the half dime and dime obverse with the legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The legend had previously wrapped around the reverse wreath. | From 1860 on the half dime and dime |
| With Motto | In 1866 the Mint added a ribbon reading IN GOD WE TRUST above the eagle on the quarter, the half dollar, and the silver dollar. The motto had entered United States coinage two years earlier on the two-cent piece. | From 1866 on the quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar |
Source: Wikipedia entry on the United States Seated Liberty coinage, citing Wiley and Bugert 1993 and standard references. Checked August 2026.
Mint marks: P, O, S, and CC
Seated Liberty coins were struck at four United States Mint facilities. Each carries a mint mark on the reverse, except Philadelphia coins, which carry no mark.
The New Orleans Mint (O) opened in 1838. Its 1838-O dime was the first United States coin struck at any branch mint. The San Francisco Mint (S) opened in 1854 and struck Seated Liberty coins beginning in the mid-1850s. The Carson City Mint (CC) opened in 1870 and struck Seated Liberty coins from 1870 through 1878.
On the half dime and the dime before 1860, the mint mark sits inside the wreath on the reverse. After 1860 it sits below the wreath, near the rim. On the quarter, the half dollar, and the silver dollar, the mint mark sits below the eagle on the reverse throughout the series.
The Carson City premium
The Carson City Mint struck Seated Liberty coins for only nine years, from 1870 through 1878. Mintages were tiny compared with the Philadelphia and San Francisco facilities. Most CC dates saw fewer than 100,000 coins struck.
Collectors treat the CC mark as a premium indicator on almost every date in the series. A common-date Seated Liberty half dollar might trade at a small premium over silver. The same coin with a CC mark can trade for a multiple in every grade, and for many multiples in certified mint state.
The most famous Carson City rarities in the Seated series are the 1870-CC coins, the 1871-CC coins, the 1873-CC No Arrows dime, and the 1878-CC half dime. Each combines a small mintage with heavy attrition from circulation and melting.
Series-wide key dates and rarities
The Seated Liberty series spans 55 years and six denominations, which produces a long list of scarce issues. The dates below are the most cited series-wide rarities. Each command a real premium in every grade and a serious premium in certified higher grades.
| Issue | Why it is a key |
|---|---|
| 1870-S Seated Liberty dollar | A famous coin of unknown official mintage. Numismatic historian Walter Breen listed only about a dozen examples known in 1988. The coin is not recorded in San Francisco Mint production records for that year. |
| 1873-CC No Arrows dime | The Carson City dime of 1873 struck before the arrows subtype began. Famously scarce in every grade and one of the most-cited Seated dime rarities. |
| 1873-CC No Arrows quarter | A parallel Carson City rarity on the quarter, struck before the 1873 arrows subtype began. Very few pieces survived in any grade. |
| 1873-CC No Arrows half dollar | The Carson City half dollar of 1873 without arrows. Extremely rare in every grade. |
| 1838-O half dollar | The first year the New Orleans Mint struck a half dollar. A famous branch-mint rarity of small mintage. |
| 1878-CC half dime | Last year of the half dime denomination at Carson City. Small mintage and a challenge to find in high grade. |
| 1876-CC twenty-cent piece | A key rarity in the very short twenty-cent series. Very few examples are known. |
Sources: Wikipedia entries on the Seated Liberty dollar, the Seated Liberty dime, the Seated Liberty quarter, the Seated Liberty half dollar, and the twenty-cent piece, cross-checked against standard references. Checked August 2026.
Any coin in the list above deserves independent authentication before a price is discussed. The dollar figures move with the auction market and with the assigned grade. A verbal appraisal on a raw coin does not carry weight at these levels.
LIBERTY on the shield: the wear diagnostic
Every Seated Liberty coin carries the word LIBERTY on a banner across the striped shield in Liberty's right hand. The seven letters were struck in shallow relief on new dies. They wore off quickly in circulation.
Grading services read the banner as a first pass on wear. A coin in About Good shows no readable letters. A coin in Good may show partial letters or a faint outline. A Very Good coin shows at least three letters. A Fine coin shows all seven letters, even if weak. A Very Fine coin shows all seven letters bold and complete.
The jump from Good to Fine is not cosmetic on the price ladder. On a common date the gap can be a factor of five or ten. On a Carson City coin or a semi-key the same jump can lift a piece from a small premium into serious four-figure territory.
Do not confuse a soft strike with wear. Some New Orleans and San Francisco dies produced coins with weak LIBERTY letters straight from the Mint. An independent grader separates strike weakness from circulation wear on a certified holder.
Silver melt floor: worked math on one dollar
The melt floor is a floor, not a target. A Carson City coin, a semi-key, or a certified high-grade example is worth much more intact than melted. Run the identification steps below before any coin goes to a refiner.
Counterfeit warning on CC-mint issues
Carson City Seated Liberty coins are among the most-forged silver coins in the United States market. The price gap between a common branch coin and a CC of the same date invites the addition of a CC mint mark to a genuine Philadelphia or San Francisco piece.
The most common attack is the added CC punch on a real Philadelphia coin of the same date. A trained grader spots the added mark under 10x magnification because the letters sit at the wrong height or leave a tooling ring around the base.
The 1870-S Seated Liberty dollar and the 1873-CC No Arrows dime are heavily faked at the very top of the market. Any such candidate must carry certification from an established independent grading service before any funds move. A verbal appraisal, a phone photo, or a raw coin in a plastic flip is not sufficient at those price levels.
Federal law under 18 U.S. Code section 331 prohibits altering United States coins with fraudulent intent, including the addition or alteration of a mint mark. That statute is one of the tools federal prosecutors use in coin fraud cases.
How to identify what you actually have
The steps below are the sequence a serious hobbyist runs on any Seated Liberty coin found in a jar, a drawer, or an inherited estate. Follow them in order before treating the coin as anything more than silver bullion.
- Confirm the coin is Seated Liberty. The obverse shows Liberty seated on a rock in a flowing dress. Her right hand rests on a striped shield banner reading LIBERTY. Her left hand holds a pole topped by a cloth cap.
- Identify the denomination. Read the reverse. Half dime and dime reverses read HALF DIME or ONE DIME inside a wreath. Quarter, half, and dollar reverses show a heraldic eagle with the face value below.
- Note the date and mint mark. The date sits below Liberty on the obverse. On the half dime and dime, the mint mark sits inside the wreath before 1860 and below the wreath after 1860. On larger coins, the mint mark sits below the eagle.
- Place the subtype. No Stars, Stars, With Drapery, With Arrows, With Rays, Legend Obverse, or With Motto. The subtype narrows the date range and the type-collector price ladder.
- Screen for a CC mint mark. Any Carson City coin from 1870 through 1878 deserves a closer look under 10x magnification. Nearly every CC date carries a real premium above the silver floor.
- Read the LIBERTY banner. Count the readable letters on the shield banner. Zero letters places the coin in Good or lower. All seven letters places the coin in Fine or higher. That reading sets the price tier before anything else.
- Do not clean the coin. Any polishing, dipping, or scrubbing lowers the grade an independent grader will assign. Cleaning can drop the value by half or more. Preserve the coin exactly as found.
- Submit high-value candidates to an independent grading service. Only certified authentication carries weight in the marketplace on any Carson City coin, on any famous rarity such as the 1870-S dollar, and on any high-grade semi-key.
The cleaned coin trap
Cleaning is the single most common way an owner destroys the market value of a Seated Liberty coin. Silver coins tone over 150 years. A well-meaning polish restores the shine and cuts the price in half or worse.
Independent grading services read cleaning as a details grade rather than a numeric grade. A cleaned coin that would otherwise grade Fine 15 receives a Fine Details Cleaned holder. The market treats that holder as a discount of 40 percent to 60 percent against the same-grade original.
The most damaging methods are chemical dips, abrasive powders, brass or steel brushes, and any soft cloth applied with pressure. Ultrasonic cleaners also strip original surfaces on soft silver. Do nothing to the coin between finding it and getting a professional opinion.
What your Seated Liberty coin is probably not
Most Seated Liberty coins that reach a shop counter or a resale listing are not what the owner hopes for. It is more useful to know the honest patterns than to sell yourself on a possibility.
A common Philadelphia coin in low grade. This is the most common outcome. It is a real coin from the 1840s through the 1880s, and its value is silver plus a small numismatic premium at best.
A common New Orleans or San Francisco coin in low grade. Genuine silver, real history, but common at that grade. Value is metal-driven with a modest premium for the mint mark on the scarcer years.
A cleaned or polished coin. Someone applied a chemical dip or a soft cloth to brighten the surface. A details grade cuts value by half or more compared to an original piece.
A coin with worn-off LIBERTY. The shield banner letters are the primary grading anchor. A coin with zero readable letters cannot grade above Good, regardless of how sharp the rest of the design looks.
An altered CC piece. A genuine Philadelphia coin with an added CC punch. Certification services detect nearly all examples on sight through the position, spacing, and tooling of the mark.
A jewelry-mounted or holed coin. Seated Liberty coins were commonly used in bracelets, pendants, and love tokens. A coin with a mount hole, a solder trace, or a bezel mark is damaged. Value is silver content plus a small collectible discount.
A Gobrecht dollar look-alike. The 1836 to 1839 Gobrecht dollars are experimental pieces with a flying eagle reverse. Restrikes exist. Any Gobrecht attribution needs independent authentication before any offer.
A real key date, undiscovered. Possible, and the reason to run the identification steps on every Seated Liberty coin you find. Also rare enough that it should not shape financial decisions before an independent grader confirms the coin.
Seated Liberty coin FAQ
What are Seated Liberty coins worth today?
A common circulated Seated Liberty coin is worth its silver content, which ranges from roughly 0.0362 troy ounces on the half dime to 0.77344 troy ounces on the dollar. Certified Carson City strikes, famous rarities such as the 1870-S dollar and the 1873-CC No Arrows dime, and certified high grades command real premiums that scale sharply with condition.
What years were Seated Liberty coins minted?
The Seated Liberty design appeared on regular United States silver coinage from 1836 through 1891. The half dime and dime began in 1837, the quarter in 1838, the half dollar in 1839, the silver dollar in 1840, and the twenty-cent piece in 1875. The half dime and the silver dollar ended in 1873. The twenty-cent piece ended in 1878. The dime, quarter, and half dollar ran through 1891.
Are Seated Liberty coins made of silver?
Yes. Every regular-issue Seated Liberty coin is 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. That composition is the .900 fineness standard set by the Coinage Act of 1837. It remained the United States silver-coinage standard through 1964 for the dime, quarter, and half dollar.
What is the rarest Seated Liberty coin?
The 1870-S Seated Liberty dollar is the most-cited series rarity. Numismatic historian Walter Breen listed roughly a dozen examples known in 1988, and no official production is recorded for the date in San Francisco Mint records. The 1873-CC No Arrows dime is the parallel dime rarity. Both coins trade at auction for six or seven figures depending on grade.
What does the CC mint mark on a Seated Liberty coin mean?
The CC mint mark identifies a coin struck at the Carson City Mint in Nevada. That facility struck Seated Liberty coins from 1870 through 1878. CC mintages were small on nearly every date, which produces a real collector premium above the silver floor on almost every Carson City strike.
How do I read the grade on a Seated Liberty coin?
Count the readable letters in the word LIBERTY on the shield banner in Liberty's right hand. Zero letters places the coin in Good or lower. Three readable letters places the coin at Very Good. All seven letters visible, even if weak, places the coin at Fine. All seven letters bold and complete places the coin at Very Fine or higher.
What are the design subtypes I need to know?
The main subtypes are No Stars, Stars, With Drapery, Arrows and Rays, Arrows at Date, Legend Obverse, and With Motto. Each marks a specific weight change, motto addition, or design update the Mint made across five decades. The subtype narrows the coin's date range and its price tier within the series.
Is it legal to melt Seated Liberty coins for their silver?
Yes. Federal law does not prohibit melting 90 percent silver United States coins. The melt ban under 31 CFR Part 82 covers one-cent and five-cent coins only and does not extend to silver dimes, quarters, half dollars, or dollars. A Carson City coin or a certified high-grade example is worth much more intact than melted, so the identification steps above should run before any coin goes to the refiner.
Sources
- Wikipedia, Seated Liberty dollar. Confirms the 1840 to 1873 year range, mass 26.73 grams, diameter 38.1 mm, reeded edge, 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper composition, 0.77344 troy ounces of pure silver per coin, mint marks O, S, and CC located beneath the eagle on the reverse, Philadelphia specimens lacking a mint mark, the Gobrecht dollar predecessor of 1836 to 1839, the Coinage Act of 1837 setting the .900 silver fineness, the addition of IN GOD WE TRUST in 1866, the 1873 Coinage Act ending the series, and the 1870-S rarity with roughly a dozen examples known per Breen 1988. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seated_Liberty_dollar. Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Seated Liberty (coinage) hub entry. Confirms the design appeared on regular United States silver coinage from 1836 through 1891 across the half dime, dime, quarter, half dollar, and silver dollar; that the twenty-cent piece also carried the design from 1875 to 1878; the four striking mints of Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Carson City; the 1837 No Stars introduction on the half dime and dime; the 1838-O dime as the first branch-mint United States coin; the drapery addition circa 1840; the 1853 arrows and rays weight-reduction subtype on the quarter and half dollar; the 1866 addition of IN GOD WE TRUST above the eagle; the 1860 legend replacement of the obverse stars on the half dime and dime; and the 1873 arrows subtype on the dime, quarter, and half dollar. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Seated_Liberty_coinage. Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Twenty-cent piece (United States coin). Confirms the 1875 to 1878 year range, mass 5 grams, diameter 22 mm, plain edge, 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper composition, 0.1447 troy ounces of pure silver per coin, mint marks CC and S located beneath the eagle on the reverse, Philadelphia specimens lacking a mint mark, the Nevada Senator John P. Jones authorship of the enabling bill, the 1878 abolition after public confusion with the quarter, and the small mintage totals across the four dates. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-cent_piece_(United_States_coin). Checked August 2026.
- Wikipedia, Dime (United States coin). Confirms the 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper composition standard for United States dimes from 1873 through 1964 shared with the Seated Liberty post-1873 subtype, the Barber, the Mercury, and the Roosevelt silver dimes; the 17.9 mm diameter shared across those series; the Seated Liberty dime year range of 1837 to 1891; and the succession of dime designs. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dime_(United_States_coin). Checked August 2026.
- United States Mint, Coin Specifications. Reference for the historical composition and weight tables of United States circulating silver coinage from 1837 through 1964, including the .900 silver fineness standard set by the Coinage Act of 1837. usmint.gov/learn/coin-and-medal-programs/circulating-coins. Checked August 2026.
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. 31 CFR Part 82: Prohibition on the Exportation, Melting, or Treatment of 5-Cent and One-Cent Coins. Treasury regulation limited to one-cent and five-cent coins. The regulation does not prohibit melting silver dimes, quarters, half dollars, or dollars. ecfr.gov/current/title-31/subtitle-B/chapter-I/part-82. Checked August 2026.
- Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. 18 U.S. Code section 331: Mutilation, diminution, and falsification of coins. Federal statute cited for defacement and fraudulent alteration of United States coins, including added or altered mint marks such as an added CC punch on a genuine Philadelphia strike. law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331. Checked August 2026.