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 Replies: 22 / Views: 3,946 |
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Press Manager
 United States
1420 Posts |
Coinweek - Morgan silver dollars, minted between 1878 and 1921, have been promoted and enthusiastically collected for decades; and "early" silver dollars, struck between 1794 and 1804, have had a long, strong following of collectors. But Seated Liberty silver dollars, coined from 1840 through 1873, have fallen through the cracks in popularity during recent years.  However, there's a growing following for this series by collectors who want a new challenge. Expect to see an increasing number of articles written about Seated Liberty silver dollars and perhaps even a new book or two during the next few years. Undoubtedly the reason so little attention has been given to this series is that these are very scarce coins, especially in untampered with, "original" Mint State condition. Many Seated Liberty silver dollars that still survive have been cleaned and have often been artificially retoned. Examples with original surfaces are truly very scarce. Probably most pieces that appear to be Mint "white" have been lightly cleaned, but can still be attractive if they don't have a polished look. For these reasons, many collectors prefer examples that have been lightly circulated, such as those in Extremely Fine and About Uncirculated grades. Read the Entire Article
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3843 Posts |
Personally I really enjoy the few Seated dollars in my collection but don't see the great potential for them that this author sees. They are really just a type coin to most collectors due to their relative scarcity and expense when one does find a nice example. The average collector can't spend $500-600 to find a problem free common date in XF and they are fairly pricey even in lower grades. |
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Valued Member
United States
50 Posts |
In contrast to the other dollars cited it is a long running denomination that was on many coins. Half Dimes, dimes, quarters, halves. For that reason it is easier to overlook as a series and for me it is a type set target only. I also think the design is three least-aesthetically pleasing as compared to the other cited dollar coins, but agree with the condition comments the author mentions. Edited by Crouse27
10/18/2015 4:35 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
814 Posts |
Were these ever to be found in banks during the 20th century alongside Morgan and Peace dollars? Or have they always been scarce? I mean, I know they weren't minted in the quantities that later silver dollars were, so I was curious. Edited by hcmusicguy
10/18/2015 5:11 pm
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Pillar of the Community
United States
3343 Posts |
There just aren't that many of them. General scarcity increases the base price of all of them, so specific scarcity doesn't command high premiums. Low mintage coins, such as the 1859-S or the 1845, don't sell for a lot more than the "common" 1859-O or 1872. The prices for low mintage Seated dollars are paltry compared to much more common "stopper" Morgans such as the 1889-CC, 1893-S and 1894. Unfortunately Seated dollars have been targeted by the usual suspect counterfeiters. "Two minutes ago I would have sold my chances for a tired dime." Fred Astaire
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4085 Posts |
Better get the checkbook ready if you want to make any stab at a substantial set of these. Based on price guides, you could spend $30k on the "easy" dates and another $100k to get to an almost complete set in XF grades. The 1870-S would be practically unobtainable and the CC's are budget busters.
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
Just FYI, the middle coin is a half dollar.  |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
4409 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
392 Posts |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10034 Posts |
As a kid I always liked these and wanted one. I have yet to fulfill that dream. I came close to buying one a few years ago at my LCS, but decided to stick to the coin projects at hand first. Now I keep wondering why I did not pull the trigger! Can someone educate me as to why the one in this ebay auction is slabbed without saying it was cleaned? To my untrained eye it looks whizzed with the parallel lines all over the front: http://www.ebay.com/itm/1862-LIBERT...AOSwMmBVmrHg Beautiful nonetheless - also out of my price range. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10982 Posts |
Seated dollars are a great but pricey series for those of us of modest means. Those looking at Seated coinage that is less expensive should consider the dimes. CCF has a resident expert in Seated dimes (dsfreeworld) and these small coins offer a lot of history for (usually) not a lot of money.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
12057 Posts |
Those lines are all parallel, do not cross the devices, and appear to be incuse, making them die polishing lines - not a defect. On a cleaned coin, the lines would usually not be parallel, and would cover the portrait, legend, date, etc., not just the fields.
Member ANA - EAC - TNA - SSDC - CCT #890 "Most of the things worth doing in the world had been declared impossible before they were done." -- Louis D. Brandeis |
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Pillar of the Community
United States
6370 Posts |
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Valued Member
United States
392 Posts |
I thought it was the rare, 1862 "burnished" Seated Liberty dollar from the West Point Mint. Jack  On a serious note: paralyse, you have an amazing depth of knowledge. I was ready to agree with Earle42, that it looked like it had been attacked by a Dremel tool, deliberately avoiding the portrait, legend, date, etc. Impressive knowledge. Good job. |
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
17884 Posts |
You will also notice the parallel lines are inside the protected areas of the coin such as inside the loops of the 8, but are not on the devices themselves. There is no way you could do something to the coin create those lines and get them into those small protected areas and not have them show on the devices themselves. But a linear polishing of the die face would produce those lines on ALL the field areas without getting on the devices.
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Bedrock of the Community
United States
10034 Posts |
Thanks to all of those who larned me so I is now better edumacated  Polishing marks...lines not being across the devices...makes a lot of sense. CCF is an amazing place  |
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Replies: 22 / Views: 3,946 |
Posted 10/18/2015 4:35 pm
