1858 Seated Liberty Half Dollar

About This Coin

The 1858 Seated Liberty Half Dollar is a United States half dollar from the Seated Liberty Half Dollars 1839-1891 series — 20th of 53 years in the series. In 1858, coins were struck at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New Orleans Mints with a combined mintage of 19.3 million. This represents the highest annual mintage in the entire series, 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. Struck during the California Gold Rush era, when vast quantities of western gold transformed the American economy and led to new denominations. Weighing 12.4 grams, 30 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $83 to $5.0K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $55K in PR67 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Thomas Sully/Christian Gobrecht.