1859 Seated Liberty Dollar

About This Coin

The 1859 Seated Liberty Dollar is a United States dollar from the Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873 series — 20th of 34 years in the series. In 1859, coins were struck at the San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New Orleans Mints with a combined mintage of 636,500. This ranks 31st 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. Production resumed after the mid-1850s hiatus. San Francisco struck dollars alongside Philadelphia. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 26.73 grams, 38.1 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Struck one year after the 1858 key date, the lowest-mintage regular issue in the series. Across its variants, estimated values range from $425 to $27K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $82K in PR67 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.