1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Motto
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 60,000 made
- Mintage
- 60,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 12.44 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 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 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Motto worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1866-S is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
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 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Motto rare?
- Yes. Only 60,000 were made, 18th lowest of the 116 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Motto silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3600 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1866 Seated Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1866 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no San Francisco issue had a smaller mintage than the 1866-S.
- How many 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Motto coins were made?
- 60,000.
What to check on your 1866-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 1866 (745,625 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.
- 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 benchmark for Fine. Check the high points of Liberty's knees and breast.
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 1866-S
Production at San Francisco fell off a cliff in 1866. Only 60,000 were made, against 675,000 the year before. That drop is why the 1866-S is the one people look for. In 1866 the figure was 994,000.
The other mints made far more that year: 1866-S alone came to 994,000, roughly 17 for every 1866-S. If you're checking a pile of 1866 coins, the S is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1874-CC (59,000) and the 1878-CC (62,000).
Only the 1873-S, No Arrows and the 1878-S have a lower mintage among San Francisco's 26 Seated Liberty Half Dollars. No Seated Liberty Half Dollar of the 1860s had a smaller run.
Motto above the eagle and Carson City (1866 to 1872)
IN GOD WE TRUST was added on a scroll above the eagle in 1866. San Francisco struck both the old and new reverses that year. The 1866-S without motto, with 60,000 made, is scarce. Philadelphia mintages ran from about 418,000 to 1.2 million a year, while San Francisco often struck more than one million.
The Carson City Mint struck its first halves in 1870. The 1870-CC, with 54,617 made, is the key. Carson City halves of 1871 and 1872 are scarce in all grades. Many Nevada-struck halves circulated in the mining West and survive heavily worn, scratched or cleaned. Mint state CC halves of these years are major rarities, so most collectors settle for a sound Fine or Very Fine coin.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1866
The five-cent nickel arrived in 1866 with the Shield design. The motto "In God We Trust" was added to silver dollars, half dollars, quarters and the larger gold coins.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with HALF DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes and IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Half Dollar (1839–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 60,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.44 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3600 troy oz (11.196 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1866 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1866 Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto | 745,625 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Motto | 60,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto | 994,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.