1853 Seated Liberty Dime

About This Coin

The 1853 Seated Liberty Dime is a United States dime from the Seated Liberty Dimes 1837-1891 series — 17th of 55 years in the series. In 1853, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints with a combined mintage of 13.3 million. This ranks 50th of 55 years by total mintage, above the series median of 2.1 million. 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 an agricultural wreath enclosing the denomination (through 1859) or a wreath enclosing ONE DIME with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1860-1891). Arrows added at the date and rays on the reverse to indicate a weight reduction mandated by Congress. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, 17.9 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $30 to $25K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $102K in MS68+ grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Robert Ball Hughes/Christian Gobrecht.