1867 Liberty Seated Dollar : History & Value

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

Whereas merchants noticed some utility exporting United States silver {dollars} to Asia, demand for the big silver coin remained gentle in 1867 contrasted with the a lot increased mintage of Liberty Seated Half {Dollars}. 1867 marked the second 12 months of the With Motto kind. The identify “With Motto” refers back to the inclusion of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the coin, which seems on a ribbon above the eagle’s head on the reverse.

IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 Two-Cent Piece. However with the passage of the Coinage Act of March 3, 1865, Congress ordered revisions to the entire United States cash that “shall admit the inscription thereon”. This was the final invoice that President Abraham Lincoln signed into legislation earlier than his April 14 assassination.

Manufacturing of the 1867 Liberty Seated Greenback commenced on January 17, with 6,000 items struck. Intermittent coinage could be carried out by way of November. Your entire mintage of circulation strikes was the product of simply 5 days of labor. As many of the cash had been exported, fewer than 100 possible survive in Mint State. Gems are uncommon.

The Enigmatic and “Very Uncommon” 1867 Over Smaller Date Selection

The 1867 Liberty Seated Greenback Massive Date Over Small Date is a scarce collectible selection created when a half greenback date punch was mistakenly impressed on the die earlier than being overstruck with the bigger logotype. Remnants of the smaller date may be seen most clearly simply above the “186” of the date. Solely two examples had been identified to numismatist Walter Breen, with the invention piece hailing from the gathering of Charles Ellsworth Gilhousen (1869-1952), which the public sale agency Superior offered over three periods in 1973. Cataloger Jeff Ambio, writing in a 2012 Stack’s Bowers public sale itemizing, says that the entire uncirculated 1867 Liberty Seated {Dollars} that he’s accustomed to present the repunched date and that almost all if not the entire surviving uncirculated cash of this date had been from the identical run and put aside for years earlier than being disbursed. This obverse die was additionally used to strike some Proofs. The die pair could have been used for the November 22 placing talked about above.

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1867 Liberty Seated Greenback Market Information and Noteworthy Specimens

Prime Inhabitants: PCGS MS65+ (1, 1/2025), NGC MS65 (3, 1/2025), and CAC MS65 (0:1 stickered:graded, 1/2025).

• PCGS MS65+ #03127773: Imaged at PCGS CoinFacts. Gentle champagne hue. Evenly frosted units. Two hits on cheek and neck. Vertical scratch to the precise of stars 1 and a pair of. Diagonal scratch above foot. Scattered small scratches on Liberty. Fields are largely clear and enticing. As grade suggests, coin is notionally finer than the toned 65s.
• PCGS MS65 #05553823: Dell Loy Hansen; PCGS Person SeatedCrazy. Imaged at PCGS CoinFacts. Yellow gold heart on the obverse with purple and purple peripheral firming. Diagonal gold streaks from rim to star 7 and from rim to cap. Reverse is toned in lavender and inexperienced.
• PCGS MS65 #84145497: As PCGS MS65 #25596549. Heritage Auctions, June 2006, Lot 2079 – $37,375; Legend Numismatics to Eugene H. Gardner, April 2011; “The Eugene H. Gardner Assortment, Half III,” Heritage Auctions, Could 12, 2015, Lot 98569 – $56,400; “The Mesquite Assortment,” Heritage Auctions, April 27, 2017, Lot 4114 – $36,425. As PCGS MS65 #25686013. Heritage Auctions, October 29, 2015, Lot 3381 – $47,587.50. As PCGS MS65 #84145497. Dell Loy Hansen. Imaged at PCGS CoinFacts. Breen-5478. Massive/Small Date. Cerulean blue firming alongside rim and denticles. Rose-grey patina. Firming spot to the precise of Liberty’s knee. Obvious fingerprint at 5 o’clock subject and on the reverse at E DOL.
• NGC MS65 #1749918-010: Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2018, Lot 4905 – $31,200. Breen-5478. Massive/Small Date. Principally sensible with gentle golden firming on the backside of the obverse. Gentle frost on units.
• NGC MS65: Rod Candy; “Rod Candy & North Shore Assortment, Half IV,” Bowers and Merena, July 2005, Lot 1065; “Jack Lee Assortment,” Heritage Auctions, November 3, 2005, Lot 2223 – $29,900; Stack’s Bowers, November 2010, Lot 2286 – $34,500; Stack’s Bowers, March 21, 2012, Lot 4132 – $33,350; Breen-5478. Massive/Small Date. Crescent firming alongside the higher left periphery. Fields are a rose-bisque colour. Reverse shows extra vibrant luster (primarily based on photos). Teal rim firming is current on the reverse as are firming spots on the eagle’s proper wing and above the second T of STATES.
• NGC MS65 #1749225-015: “The Richard Jewell Assortment,” Stack’s Bowers, August 13, 2011, Lot 7423 – $31,625; Heritage Auctions, Could 31, 2012, Lot 3962 – $57,500. Breen-5478. Massive/Small Date. Apricot firming blankets the fields of either side. Edges are darkly toned in cerulean blue, inexperienced, and purple. Lighter firming beneath 1 of date. 

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Design

Obverse:

The obverse options Liberty seated on a rock in classical flowing robes, her head turned to the precise (viewer’s left). Liberty’s left arm is bent, her raised hand holding a Liberty pole with a cap. The best arm is prolonged downward at her aspect, with the hand balancing a protect with the phrase LIBERTY displayed in a curving banner. 13 six-pointed stars encompass the seated determine inside a denticulated rim, with seven on the left aspect, one between Liberty’s head and the cap, and the remaining 5 alongside the precise. The date 1867 is centered on the backside between the bottom of the rock and the rim.

Reverse:

On the reverse, an eagle is displayed prominently inside a denticulated rim. The eagle’s wings are partly unfold however folded downward on the joint as if the majestic fowl had simply landed or maybe as an alternative is making ready to fly away. An olive department is within the dexter claw (viewer’s left); the sinister claw clutches three arrows. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircles the highest two-thirds of the coin contained in the rim, with the ONE DOL. denomination centered on the backside. Most had been minted at Philadelphia; department New Orleans (O) and San Francisco (S) mintmarks are positioned under the eagle and above the denomination.

Edge:

The sting of the 1867 Liberty Seated Greenback is reeded.

1867 Liberty Seated Greenback Coin Specs

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References

Julian, R.W. “The Silver Greenback, 1853-1873”, Numismatic Scrapbook Journal. August 1964. 2124-2128. Information compiled and analyzed from the Nationwide Archives.
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