Seated Liberty Dime

Minted from 1837 until 1891, the Seated Liberty Dime enjoyed a production span of over 50 years, longer than the production for any other dime. This coin is 90% silver with a melt value of $5.75 based off current silver price of $79.55  oz.The dime was designed to be visually similar to the other Seated Liberty coinage produced during that time frame, the Seated Liberty Quarter, Seated Liberty Half Dollar and Seated Liberty Dollar. One companion coin, the Seated Liberty Twenty Cent Piece, was minted from 1875 through 1878 but was discontinued as being too similar to the quarter and was considered superfluous.

Because the Coinage Act of 1837 standardized silver content values, the Seated Liberty Dime metal content consisted of 90% silver and 10% copper. While the diameter stayed the same at 17.9 millimeters, the weight of the coin changed over it’s production run.

• 1837 to 1853 -2.67 grams
• 1853 to 1873 – 2.49 grams
• 1873 to 1892 – 2.5 grams

After government legislation in 1872, the 90%/10% metal content, 17.9 millimeter diameter and 2.5 gram weight became the established standard for dimes that held true until 1965. The weight variations were accounted for by design changes which included the addition of arrows in the 1873+ dimes.

Seated Liberty Dime Minted

The Seated Liberty Dime was minted in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Carson City. Even though well over 100 million of these coins produced, common Seated Liberty Dimes in poor condition still have a value in the $25 to $50 range. There are exceptions to this scattered throughout the years and mintages. These exceptions include short runs, design changes and die flaws and may increase the value of even a poor coin dramatically.

The most significant exceptions are the 187x-CC series being the most notable. As an example, perhaps the most important of the Seated Liberty Dimes is the 1874-CC Arrow which, even in poor condition, still runs in the $10,000 range. A 1873-CC No Arrows Seated Liberty Dime appears to be a unique strike and sold recently for $1.84 million.

Liberty Seated Half Dollar

All About the Liberty Seated Half Dollar

The Liberty Seated Half Dollar was issued between 1839 and 1886 by the United States mint. This coin is 90% silver and the current melt value is $28.77 This coin was in circulation for 57 years. To put this in perspective the Walking Liberty was for 31 years, and the Franklin for just 15 years.

With what is perhaps the longest design use for a half dollar in the United States, the Seated Liberty Half Dollar was in use from 1839 until it was replaced by the Barber Half Dollar in 1892. While the basic design by Christian Gobrecht saw few modifications during this time span, there were changes which led to different weights for the coin, even though the overall diameter and silver content remained constant.

Although the coin was minted at San Francisco, Carson City, New Orleans and Philadelphia and consisted of the usual 90% silver and 10% copper mix with a diameter of 32.5 millimeters, government legislation changed the weight three times over the course of production. These weights were:

• 1839 to 1852 – 13.36 grams
• 1853 to 1873 – 12.44 grams
• 1874 to 1891 – 12.5 grams

While the thickness and the diameter of the coin didn’t change, the weight differences were accounted for by different design features including arrows and rays which means there were actually multiple designs for the Liberty Seated Half Dollar, although the core design remained the same.

Due to the exceptionally long production run for the Liberty Seated Half Dollar, there are quite a few readily available on the market. Values for these coins are all over the map with common ones usually running about 1.5 to 2x silver spot value with rare coins in MS conditions capable of running in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Not only do mint marks and condition make a difference in price but die cracks, design changes such as drapery/no drapery, motto size and the inclusion of arrows and rays will make a difference as well. Any Liberty Seated Half Dollar in MS66 state or better will be well over the $10,000 mark while those in Good condition, with the exception of the rarities, will consistently be in the $30 to $50 range.