1873 Seated Liberty Dime

About This Coin

The 1873 Seated Liberty Dime is a United States dime from the Seated Liberty Dimes 1837-1891 series — 37th of 55 years in the series. In 1873, coins were struck at the Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Carson City Mints with a combined mintage of 4.4 million. This ranks 40th of 55 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 an agricultural wreath enclosing the denomination (through 1859) or a wreath enclosing ONE DIME with the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (1860-1891). The 1873-CC "No Arrows" is a major rarity with only one known example. Arrows returned to indicate another weight change. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, 17.9 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Collectors have identified one known die variety for this date (misplaced date). Produced 6 years before the celebrated 1879 key date. Across its variants, estimated values range from $31 to $93K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $3600K in MS65 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by James Barton Longacre.