1861 Seated Liberty Half Dollar

About This Coin

The 1861 Seated Liberty Half Dollar is a United States half dollar from the Seated Liberty Half Dollars 1839-1891 series — 23rd of 53 years in the series. In 1861, coins were struck at the New Orleans, Philadelphia, and San Francisco Mints with a combined mintage of 10.6 million. This ranks 49th 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. Confederate and Union forces both struck half dollars at New Orleans, making 1861-O provenance significant. Weighing 12.4 grams, 30 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $83 to $27K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $98K in SP64 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Thomas Sully/Christian Gobrecht.