1888 Seated Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the Philadelphia Mint · 12,000 made
- Mintage
- 12,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 12.5 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 1888 Seated Liberty Half Dollar worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1888 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 1888 Seated Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Yes. Only 12,000 were made, 13th lowest of the 116 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1888 Seated Liberty Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3617 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1888 Seated Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark.
- Which Philadelphia dates near 1888 are scarcer?
- The 1884 at 4,400, the 1886 at 5,000, the 1887 at 5,000, plus 2 more. So the 1888 is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1888 Seated Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 12,000.
What to check on your 1888
- There's no mint mark on this one, so the date and condition are what matter.
- 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 date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1888
Philadelphia made 12,000 in 1888, up from 5,000 in 1887. In 1889 the figure was 12,000.
No other mint struck it for circulation that year, so every 1888 you find is from Philadelphia. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1878-S (12,000) and the 1889 (12,000).
Across Philadelphia's 56 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1882 with 4,400 made. The 1888 is on the scarcer side of the middle. Within the 1880s it's 9th smallest of 10, between the 1881 (10,000) and the 1889 (12,000).
Tiny mintages in the final years (1879 to 1891)
From 1879 to 1890 Philadelphia struck business strike halves in very small numbers, roughly 4,400 to 12,000 a year, while silver dollars absorbed most of the bullion. Branch mints made no halves at all in these years. Proofs were struck every year alongside the business strikes and survive in comparable numbers.
Collectors and dealers saved many of these coins when new, so they survive in uncirculated grades more often than mintages suggest. Many business strikes are prooflike, which can make them hard to tell from proofs without close study of the rims and devices. In 1891, the final year, Philadelphia struck about 200,000. That date is the most available of the period in circulated grades. Charles Barber's design replaced Seated Liberty in 1892.
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 | 1888 |
| Mint | Philadelphia Mint |
| Mint mark | None |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 12,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.5 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3617 troy oz (11.250 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
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.