1850 Seated Liberty Silver Dollar

1850 Liberty Seated dollars are very scarce silver coins that are particularly popular with individuals who enjoy collecting 19th-century United States coinage. Liberty Seated silver dollars were designed by United States Mint Chief Engraver Christian Gobrecht, who also designed the other silver coins with the Liberty Seated motif. These types of coins entered circulation in the late 1830s.

Meanwhile, Liberty Seated silver dollars were struck from 1840 through 1873 and they were produced in Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Carson City. Liberty Seated silver dollars widely circulated during the 1840s and 1850s, but as silver bullion prices increased during in the late 1850s, these silver dollars were more widely used in foreign trade.

1850 Liberty Seated dollars were produced at both the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints. Here is a look at the mintage figures for each issue:

• 1850, 7,500 minted; $550 to $7,000

• 1850-O, 40,000; $350 to $13,500

*Price ranges are from a low grade of Very Good-8 through Mint State-60.

Proofs were also made in small quantities and are worth about $28,000 and up. All 1850 silver dollars are scarce, but those minted in Philadelphia (which have no mintmark) are extremely difficult to find, especially in original, undamaged condition.

1850 Liberty Seated dollars have a composition made of 90 percent silver and 10 percent copper. Each silver dollar has 0.77344 ounces, or nearly a full ounce, of pure silver. These silver dollars also measure 38.1 millimeters in diameter and weigh 26.73 grams. Therefore, Liberty Seated dollars are the same size and weight as the more commonly encountered Morgan and Peace silver dollars.