1870 Seated Liberty Half Dime

About This Coin

The 1870 Seated Liberty Half Dime is a United States dime from the Seated Liberty Half Dimes 1837-1873 series — a late issue, 34th of 37 years in the series. In 1870, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints with a combined mintage of 536,001. This ranks 9th of 37 years by total mintage, below the series median of 1.6 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. The 1870-S is a legendary rarity — only one confirmed example, possibly struck for the San Francisco Mint cornerstone. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 1.24 grams, 15.9 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $32 to $4373K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $3120K in MS64 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by James Barton Longacre.