1856-O Seated Liberty Dime
Circulation strike struck at the New Orleans Mint · 1,180,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,180,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 2.49 g
- Diameter
- 17.9 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1856-O Seated Liberty Dime worth?
It's scarcer than a typical date, so even circulated examples sell above face and above their metal value. The best uncirculated coins are where the money is.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1856-O Seated Liberty Dime rare?
- Somewhat. 1,180,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1856-O Seated Liberty Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0720 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1856 Seated Liberty Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia dimes have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is O, for New Orleans.
- Which New Orleans dates near 1856 are scarcer?
- The 1860-O at 40,000, the 1858-O at 290,000, the 1851-O at 400,000, plus 3 more. So the 1856-O is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1856-O Seated Liberty Dime coins were made?
- 1,180,000.
What to check on your 1856-O
- Make sure the mint mark really is a O. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1856-S (70,000 made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the shield is the key: a full, readable LIBERTY marks a coin in Fine or better. Then check Liberty's head and knee.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1856-O
New Orleans hadn't struck the Seated Liberty Dime since 1854. When it came back in 1856, it made 1,180,000. In 1857 the figure was 1.5 million.
1856-S came to 70,000 and 1856 came to 5.8 million, so neither mint's 1856 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1840-O (1,175,000) and the 1853-O (1,100,000).
Across New Orleans's 19 Seated Liberty Dime issues, the hardest to find is the 1860-O with 40,000 made. The 1856-O is one of the easier ones. Within the 1850s it's 13th smallest of 23, between the 1853-O (1.1 million) and the 1852 (1.5 million).
Arrows removed and San Francisco begins (1856 to 1859)
The arrows came off the dies in 1856, but the lighter 2.49 gram weight stayed. Philadelphia struck 5,780,000 dimes that year, in Large Date and Small Date versions. It added 5,580,000 in 1857. New Orleans kept a steady pace with 1,180,000 and 1,540,000. Demand was boosted by the Act of February 21, 1857, which ended the legal tender status of Spanish and Mexican silver. The old reales and half reales had served as small change for decades and American dimes now had to take their place. The same law ended the large copper cent and the half cent.
The San Francisco Mint struck its first dimes in 1856, only 70,000 pieces. It made none in 1857, then 60,000 in 1858 and 60,000 again in 1859. All three S dates are keys, because the coins circulated hard in the gold country and few were saved. Philadelphia output also fell sharply, to 1,540,000 in 1858 and just 430,000 in 1859. New Orleans struck 290,000 and 480,000 in those two years.
Proof mintages reached 800 in 1859, far more than in earlier years, as collecting grew. When you find a dime of 1856 to 1859, check the reverse near the bow of the wreath for an S mint mark. A worn S coin is worth far more than a well preserved Philadelphia piece of the same year.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1856
The Mint made pattern Flying Eagle cents dated 1856 to test a smaller copper-nickel cent. They were given to members of Congress and collectors, which helped launch coin collecting in the United States.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock, her right hand resting on a shield crossed by a scroll reading LIBERTY. Her left hand holds a pole topped by a liberty cap and the date is below. The 1837 and 1838-O coins have nothing else on the obverse. From 1838 to 1860 thirteen stars surround her and from 1860 the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA take their place. Drapery hangs from her left elbow on coins from late 1840 on. Arrows flank the date on most dimes of 1853 to 1855 and of 1873 to 1874. The reverse shows ONE DIME inside a laurel wreath ringed by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA until 1860. After that a larger cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounds the words. Branch mint marks are on the reverse near the bow.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Dime (1837–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
| Mint | New Orleans Mint |
| Mint mark | "O" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,180,000 |
| Face value | 10¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 2.49 grams |
| Diameter | 17.9 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0720 troy oz (2.241 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1856 Seated Liberty Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1856 Seated Liberty Dime | 5,780,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0720 oz |
| 1856-S Seated Liberty Dime | 70,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0720 oz |
| 1856-O Seated Liberty Dime | 1,180,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0720 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.