Seated Liberty Half Dollar Value Chart: Every Date From 1839 to 1891

The dates to check first

These are the lowest-mintage Seated halves struck for circulation. If you're sorting a jar or an inherited collection, pull these dates out before anything else and check the mint mark carefully.

1. 1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Arrows: 4 made.
2. 1882 Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 4,400 made.
3. 1884 Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 4,400 made.
4. 1879 Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 4,800 made.
5. 1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Arrows: 5,000 made.
6. 1886 Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 5,000 made.

Every seated liberty half dollar by date and mint

Click any date for its full page: how many were made, the mint mark location, varieties and what to check. Mint marks matter: the same year can be common from one mint and scarce from another.

The series in 6 stages

Gobrecht's seated half and New Orleans output (1839 to 1852)

The Seated Liberty half dollar arrived in 1839. The earliest coins lack drapery at Liberty's elbow, while later 1839 coins show the added folds of cloth. From 1840 New Orleans produced halves every year of the period, often outstripping Philadelphia, with the mint mark below the eagle. New Orleans struck 3,180,000 in 1848 while Philadelphia made only 580,000.

Arrows, rays and lighter halves (1853 to 1855)

The Act of February 21, 1853 reduced the half dollar from 13.36 to 12.44 grams. Arrows beside the date and rays around the eagle marked the new weight in 1853. Philadelphia and New Orleans struck more than 4.8 million between them, so the arrows and rays type is easy to find in worn grades. It is a one-year type that most collectors include in a type set.

Peak branch output and the 1861-O (1856 to 1865)

With the arrows gone, halves were struck in large numbers. New Orleans reached 7,294,000 in 1858. San Francisco's early halves, such as the 1856-S and 1857-S, are scarce in better grades. In 1861 New Orleans struck 2,532,633 halves under three authorities: the United States, the State of Louisiana and the Confederacy. Specialists use die markers to tell which authority struck a given coin. Four halves were also made with a Confederate reverse design.

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.

Arrows again and the silver flood (1873 to 1878)

Early 1873 halves without arrows come with closed 3 and open 3 dates. The 1873-S without arrows had a reported mintage of 5,000, but no example is known today. Once the Coinage Act of 1873 set the half at 12.5 grams, arrows were added beside the date for 1873 and 1874. The 1874-CC, with 59,000 struck, is the scarce coin of that type.

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.

Decade by decade

• 1830s: 2 issues, 2.1 million coins. Scarcest: 1839 (100,000).
• 1840s: 21 issues, 34 million coins. Scarcest: 1842-O (203,000).
• 1850s: 26 issues, 43 million coins. Scarcest: 1853-O, No Arrows (4).
• 1860s: 23 issues, 20 million coins. Scarcest: 1866-S, No Motto (60,000).
• 1870s: 32 issues, 55 million coins. Scarcest: 1879 (4,800).
• 1880s: 10 issues, 74,400 coins. Scarcest: 1882 (4,400).
• 1890s: 2 issues, 212,000 coins. Scarcest: 1890 (12,000).

Where to find the mint mark

• 1839 to 1891: On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark.

Identifying and grading Seated halves

LIBERTY on the shield is the benchmark for Fine. Check the high points of Liberty's knees and breast.

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.

What the value bands mean

• Face value: worth its face in worn condition; only uncirculated coins and varieties carry a premium.
• Metal value: worth its silver content in worn condition.
• Small premium: sells for a little over face or metal value even when worn.
• Collector premium: scarcer than usual, so worn coins sell well above face or metal value.
• Significant rarity: a key date, valuable in any condition and often faked.

Bands describe a coin in ordinary circulated condition. An uncirculated coin with full original luster sits a band or more higher. Recognized varieties can be worth far more than the date itself.