View All Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873

1842 Seated Liberty Dollar

Base
1842 Seated Liberty Dollar

About This Coin

The 1842 Seated Liberty Dollar is a United States dollar from the Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873 series — an early issue, 3rd of 34 years in the series. In 1842, coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint with a combined mintage of 184,633. This ranks 27th of 34 years by total mintage, above the series median of 61,818. The obverse features Liberty seated on a rock, holding a pole surmounted by a Phrygian liberty cap in her left hand and a shield inscribed LIBERTY in her right and the reverse displays a heraldic eagle with shield on breast, olive branch and arrows in talons, with a banner reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. Modest production continued at Philadelphia. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 26.73 grams, 38.1 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $486 to $43K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $86K in PR65 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.

Value Estimates

$486 - $42,883

Values as of May 2026 — range across all strike types, reflecting typical grades (G-4 through MS-63). Coins in lower or exceptional grades may fall outside this range.

Specifications

Year
1842
Denomination
Dollar
Series
Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873
Weight
26.73g
Diameter
38.1mm
Designer
Christian Gobrecht
Edge
Reeded

Strike Types & Varieties(2)

Showing all 2 listings