1862 Seated Liberty Dime

About This Coin

The 1862 Seated Liberty Dime is a United States dime from the Seated Liberty Dimes 1837-1891 series — 26th of 55 years in the series. In 1862, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints with a combined mintage of 1.0 million. This ranks 18th of 55 years by total mintage, below 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). Produced during the Civil War, when coin hoarding caused severe shortages and the Mint experimented with new compositions to keep coins in circulation. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 2.48 grams, 17.9 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $24 to $11K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $59K in MS65 grade at Legend Rare Coin Auctions. Designed by James Barton Longacre.