1853 Seated Liberty Half Dollar
Base
About This Coin
The 1853 Seated Liberty Half Dollar is a United States half dollar from the Seated Liberty Half Dollars 1839-1891 series — 15th of 53 years in the series. In 1853, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints with a combined mintage of 4.9 million. This ranks 40th of 53 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 a heraldic eagle with shield on breast, olive branch and arrows in talons, with a banner reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. Arrows at date and rays on reverse mark the weight reduction. The 1853-O "No Arrows" is extremely rare with only four known. Collectors have identified one known die variety for this date (shattered die). Across its variants, estimated values range from $83 to $6.9K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $517K in VF35 grade at Stack's Bowers. Designed by Thomas Sully/Christian Gobrecht.
Value Estimates
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
Strike Types & Varieties(5)
1853 (O) Seated Liberty Half Dollar - Arrows and Rays
1853 (O) Seated Liberty Half Dollar - No Arrows
1853 Proof Seated Liberty Half Dollar - Arrows and Rays
1853 Seated Liberty Half Dollar - A&R, Miller Rulau NY-899D J Brunk T-95
