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Seated Liberty coins: the silver that came before Barber
Seated Liberty is the silver family from the late 1830s into 1891: half dime, dime, quarter, half, and dollar (plus the short twenty-cent). 90% silver. Stars, arrows, drapery, and the 1866 motto are varieties, not secret codes. Barber replaces it in 1892.
Seated Liberty is Liberty sitting on a rock, holding a shield and a pole with a cap. Christian Gobrecht. It is a family, not one coin: half dime (1837–1873), dime (1837–1891), twenty-cent (1875–1878), quarter (1838–1891), half (1839–1891), and the silver dollar (1840–1873). All of those are 90% silver. 90% vs 40%.
Barber takes the dime, quarter, and half in 1892. If the portrait is a wreath-and-cap bust, it is not Seated.
What the little extras mean
- No stars / stars on the half dime and dime: early vs later.
- Drapery at the elbow: a design change, not a mint.
- Arrows at the date (1853–1855 on several denominations): the Mint changed the weight. Arrows mean “new weight,” not a commemorative.
- Motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse (1866 on, on the larger silver): after the two-cent started the motto.
Mint marks are on the reverse, in or under the wreath. O is New Orleans. S is San Francisco. CC is Carson City. No letter is Philadelphia. Where is the mint mark?
Common vs the ones we pull
Worn common Seated dimes and quarters from the 1870s–80s: junk-plus. We stop for early dates, CC dollars, 1870-CC and 1873-CC stories, and anything that does not match the denomination you think it is. A holed Seated with a loop was jewelry. Don’t clean.
Extra history
This is the silver the country used between the early federal types and Barber. The Trade dollar and the death of the silver dollar in 1873 live in the same decade. Bimetallism.
What a shop pays
Common worn: silver bid. Better dates and problem-free CC: a collector number. Old is not rare.
People also ask
Is a Seated dime a half dime? No. Half dimes say HALF DIME and are smaller.
Are they the same as a Morgan? No. Different denomination and design.
Did they make Seated nickels? No. Five cents in this era is the Shield nickel (copper-nickel) or the half dime (silver).
Continue in the coin and money library. Related visitor guides: for shop visitors.