1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dime
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 324,000 made
- Mintage
- 324,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 1.24 g
- Diameter
- 15.5 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 1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dime worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
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 1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dime rare?
- Yes. Only 324,000 were made, 25th lowest of the 70 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dime silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0359 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1873 Seated Liberty Half Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1873 are scarcer?
- The 1871-S at 161,000, the 1869-S at 230,000, the 1868-S at 280,000. So the 1873-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dime coins were made?
- 324,000.
What to check on your 1873-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1873 (712,000 made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1873 Seated Liberty Half Dime Proof (600 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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 wears first; a full LIBERTY marks Fine or better. These tiny coins are often bent, cleaned or holed.
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. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1873-S
San Francisco made 324,000 in 1873, down from 837,000 in 1872. It was also the last year of the series.
1873 came to 712,000, so neither mint's 1873 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1840 (With Drapery) (310,085) and the 1859 (340,000).
San Francisco struck the Seated Liberty Half Dime in 10 issues between 1863 and 1873. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1864-S (90,000). Among the 1870s issues, only the 1871-S had a smaller run.
1873 is the last year the Seated Liberty Half Dime was made in 90% silver, 10% copper. Check the edge or weigh it if you find one from the year after.
The last half dimes (1868 to 1873)
Philadelphia struck 88,600 half dimes in 1868 and 208,000 in 1869, then 535,000 in 1870, 1,873,000 in 1871 and 2,947,000 in 1872. San Francisco made between 161,000 and 837,000 a year, except in 1870. No S half dimes were reported for that year, but a single 1870-S turned up in 1978 and is still the only one known. The 1872-S comes with the mint mark above the bow and below it. The 1871-S, with 161,000 struck, has the lowest regular S mintage of these years.
Since 1866 the copper-nickel five-cent piece had been doing the half dime's job at a lower cost. The Coinage Act of 1873 ended the silver half dime. Philadelphia struck 712,000 in that final year and San Francisco 324,000. Many half dimes were later melted. With the half dime and the three-cent silver both gone, the dime became the smallest American silver coin. Proofs ran between 600 and 1,000 a year in these final years.
Half dimes of these last years are mostly common in worn grades. The 1868 and 1869 are the scarcer Philadelphia dates, with 88,600 and 208,000 struck. For the 1872-S, check where the S sits relative to the bow. All coins of the period weigh 1.24 grams and measure 15.5 millimeters across, so a scale is a quick way to rule out a fake.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1873
The Coinage Act of 1873 ended the two-cent piece, the three-cent silver, the half dime and the standard silver dollar. It also created the trade dollar for commerce in Asia. Arrows were added beside the date of dimes, quarters and halves to mark a small weight change. Critics later called the act the "Crime of '73" for dropping the silver dollar.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock with her right hand on a shield crossed by a scroll reading LIBERTY and her left hand holding a pole topped by a liberty cap. The 1837 and 1838-O half dimes show nothing else on the obverse but the date. From 1838 to 1859 thirteen stars ring the design and from 1860 they are replaced by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Drapery falls from her left elbow on coins from late 1840 on. Arrows beside the date mark the lighter coins of 1853 to 1855. Until 1859 the reverse shows HALF DIME inside a laurel wreath circled by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. From 1860 a cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounds HALF DIME alone. Mint marks for New Orleans and San Francisco are on the reverse near the bow.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Half Dime (1837–1873) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1873 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 324,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 1.24 grams |
| Diameter | 15.5 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0359 troy oz (1.116 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1873 Seated Liberty Half Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1873 Seated Liberty Half Dime | 712,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0359 oz |
| 1873 Seated Liberty Half Dime Proof | 600 | Proof | 0.0359 oz |
| 1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dime | 324,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0359 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.