1863 Liberty Seated Dollar : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

Despite the United States Mint’s best efforts to keep coins in circulation after the outbreak of hostilities, widespread hoarding of gold and silver coins in the Northern and Southern states was unavoidable. In 1861, the Treasury Department operated five mint facilities: the main mint in Philadelphia, three branch mints located in the South, and a distant Western branch in California. Secession cleaved the three Southern mints, all of which saw coinage operations suspended by the end of the year. Of the three, only the New Orleans Mint would produce coins after the war’s end.

Banks in New York City suspended specie payments in December 1861. By early 1862, specie payment suspensions spread throughout the country, forcing the Treasury to issue fractional currency and Greenbacks. Still, coinage at Philadelphia and San Francisco continued, with silver and gold coins primarily produced for private depositors.

1863 marked a turning point in the conflict. On January 1, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. The proclamation had three major impacts on the war: it freed slaves held in the rebelling states, laying the groundwork for the eventual abolition of slavery; it authorized the enlistment of black troops, expanding the Union’s available manpower; and it framed the conflict as a war to end slavery, thus turning European sentiment against the Southern cause.

The Enrollment Act of 1863, enacted on March 3, required that every male citizen between 20 and 45 years of age, as well as male immigrants of the same age cohort, register for a national draft. The Confederacy had instituted a similar effort for men between the ages of 18 and 35 the year before. Given that the Union’s population outnumbered the free population of the Confederacy by three to one, the Southern states could muster only 360,000 troops at the peak of their mobilization.

Fighting reached Pennsylvania in October 1862, when Confederate General Robert E. Lee sent Major General J.E.B. Stuart on a raid of Chambersburg, where his troops seized weapons and ammo, clothes, and shoes, and set fire to the town’s train station, machine shops, and Union warehouses.

Further incursions into the Keystone State in early 1863 culminated in the Confederate defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3. The bloodiest battle of the American Civil War took place just 140 miles west of the Philadelphia Mint.

Production of the 1863 Liberty Seated Dollar

Dick Osburn and Brian Cushing identify one die marriage for the 1863 Liberty Seated Dollar. This die pair was used to strike 27,200 business strikes and 460 Proofs. The business strikes were struck mostly for private depositors for export and ended up in South America and Asia. Most of these never returned.

CAC, NGC, and PCGS report a combined 303 grading events for the date as of August 24, 2024, which aligns with author Q. David Bowers’ belief that fewer than 500 examples of the date survive.

In July 2014, Heritage Auctions noted 56 coins in the PCGS census in Mint State grades. This number has increased by only three grading events in the decade since, and the population of coins graded MS65 to MS67 has remained unchanged.

NGC reports 47 Mint State grading events. CAC has applied its sticker to eight NGC/PCGS coins while encapsulating just one (probably the Del Loy Hansen specimen).

* * *

Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS67 (1, 8/2024), NGC MS67+ (1, 8/2024), and CAC MS66 (0:1 stickered:graded, 8/2024).

• NGC MS67 #2121903-001: “The Andre Dawson Collection,” Heritage Auctions, September 1998, Lot 6833 – $50,600; Heritage Auctions, December 16, 2021, Lot 3342 – $114,000. Champagne hue with splotchy brown discoloration on the obverse at center, through stars 4 to 7, and lighter discoloration along the upper right periphery.
• PCGS MS65 #81283527: Heritage Auctions, August 10, 2016, Lot 4194 – $38,775; Heritage Auctions, April 4, 2017, Lot 15818 – $35,250; Heritage Auctions, April 26, 2018, Lot 4274 – $31,200. Dark muted purple and red toning.
• PCGS MS65 #3156293: Heritage Auctions, January 7, 2010, Lot 2600 – $57,500; Heritage Auctions, October 27, 2014, Lot 98597 – $58,750; “The Mesquite Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 27, 2017, Lot 4111 – $32,900.  Sun yellow, blue, and violet toning on both sides.
• PCGS MS64+ #81471607: Heritage Auctions, September 8, 2016, Lot 5570 – $15,275.
• PCGS MS64 #21872270: Heritage Auctions, January 10, 2020, Lot 4657 – $16,800. Rose toning with darker toning along the periphery. Criss-crossing hairline scratches in right obverse field. Two parallel diagonal marks on the reverse to the right of the eagle’s head.
• PCGS MS64 CAC #27823540: As NGC MS64 #3524776-001. Heritage Auctions, February 7, 2013, Lot 3864 – $14,100. As PCGS MS64 CAC #27823540:. Stack’s Bowers, August 14, 2013, Lot 4362 – $17,625. Clashmarks on eagle and shield. Ticks in the right obverse field to the left of stars 11 and 12.

* * *

Design

Obverse:

The obverse features Liberty seated on a rock in classical flowing robes, her head turned to the right (viewer’s left). Liberty’s left arm is bent, and her raised hand is holding a Liberty pole with a cap. The right arm is extended downward at her side, with the hand balancing a shield with the word LIBERTY displayed in a curving banner. Thirteen six-pointed stars surround the seated figure inside a denticulated rim with seven on the left side, one between Liberty’s head and the cap, and the remaining five along the right. The date 1863 is centered at the bottom between the base of the rock and the rim.

Reverse:

On the reverse, an eagle is displayed inside a denticulated rim. The eagle’s wings are partly spread but folded downward at the joint as if the majestic bird had just landed or perhaps instead is preparing to fly away. An olive branch is in the dexter claw (viewer’s left); the sinister claw clutches three arrows. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircles the top two-thirds of the coin inside the rim, with the denomination ONE DOL. centered at the bottom. Most were minted at Philadelphia; branch New Orleans (O) and San Francisco (S) mintmarks are located below the eagle and above the denomination.

Edge:

The edge of the 1863 Liberty Seated Dollar is reeded.

Coin Specifications

* * *

Additional References

Julian, R.W. “The Silver Dollar, 1853-1873”, Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. August 1964. 2124-2128. Data compiled and analyzed from the National Archives.

* * *