1870 Seated Liberty Dollar

About This Coin

The 1870 Seated Liberty Dollar is a United States dollar from the Seated Liberty Dollars 1840-1873 series — a late issue, 31st of 34 years in the series. In 1870, coins were struck at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Carson City Mints with a combined mintage of 428,477. This ranks 30th 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. The 1870-S is a legendary rarity with approximately nine known examples, possibly struck for the San Francisco Mint cornerstone ceremony. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 26.73 grams, 38.1 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $487 to $2174K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $1093K in BU grade at Stack's. Designed by Christian Gobrecht.