1867 Liberty Seated Dollar : A Collector’s Guide

By Charles Morgan and Hubert Walker for CoinWeek Notes …..
 

While traders saw some utility exporting United States silver dollars to Asia, demand for the large silver coin remained light in 1867 contrasted with the much higher mintage of Liberty Seated Half Dollars. 1867 marked the second year of the With Motto type. The name “With Motto” refers to the inclusion of the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the coin, which appears on a ribbon above the eagle’s head on the reverse.

IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 Two-Cent Piece. But with the passage of the Coinage Act of March 3, 1865, Congress ordered revisions to all of the United States coins that “shall admit the inscription thereon”. This was the last bill that President Abraham Lincoln signed into law before his April 14 assassination.

Production of the 1867 Liberty Seated Dollar commenced on January 17, with 6,000 pieces struck. Intermittent coinage would be carried out through November. The entire mintage of circulation strikes was the product of just five days of work. As most of the coins were exported, fewer than 100 likely survive in Mint State. Gems are rare.

The Enigmatic and “Very Rare” 1867 Over Smaller Date Variety

The 1867 Liberty Seated Dollar Large Date Over Small Date is a scarce collectible variety created when a half dollar date punch was mistakenly impressed on the die before being overstruck with the larger logotype. Remnants of the smaller date can be seen most clearly just above the “186” of the date. Only two examples were known to numismatist Walter Breen, with the discovery piece hailing from the collection of Charles Ellsworth Gilhousen (1869-1952), which the auction firm Superior sold over three sessions in 1973. Cataloger Jeff Ambio, writing in a 2012 Stack’s Bowers auction listing, says that all of the uncirculated 1867 Liberty Seated Dollars that he is familiar with show the repunched date and that most if not all of the surviving uncirculated coins of this date were from the same run and set aside for years before being disbursed. This obverse die was also used to strike some Proofs. The die pair may have been used for the November 22 striking mentioned above.

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1867 Liberty Seated Dollar Market Data and Noteworthy Specimens

Top Population: PCGS MS65+ (1, 1/2025), NGC MS65 (3, 1/2025), and CAC MS65 (0:1 stickered:graded, 1/2025).

• PCGS MS65+ #03127773: Imaged at PCGS CoinFacts. Light champagne hue. Lightly frosted devices. Two hits on cheek and neck. Vertical scratch to the right of stars 1 and 2. Diagonal scratch above foot. Scattered small scratches on Liberty. Fields are largely clean and attractive. As grade suggests, coin is notionally finer than the toned 65s.
• PCGS MS65 #05553823: Dell Loy Hansen; PCGS User SeatedCrazy. Imaged at PCGS CoinFacts. Yellow gold center on the obverse with red and purple peripheral toning. Diagonal gold streaks from rim to star 7 and from rim to cap. Reverse is toned in lavender and green.
• PCGS MS65 #84145497: As PCGS MS65 #25596549. Heritage Auctions, June 2006, Lot 2079 – $37,375; Legend Numismatics to Eugene H. Gardner, April 2011; “The Eugene H. Gardner Collection, Part III,” Heritage Auctions, May 12, 2015, Lot 98569 – $56,400; “The Mesquite Collection,” Heritage Auctions, April 27, 2017, Lot 4114 – $36,425. As PCGS MS65 #25686013. Heritage Auctions, October 29, 2015, Lot 3381 – $47,587.50. As PCGS MS65 #84145497. Dell Loy Hansen. Imaged at PCGS CoinFacts. Breen-5478. Large/Small Date. Cerulean blue toning along rim and denticles. Rose-grey patina. Toning spot to the right of Liberty’s knee. Apparent fingerprint at 5 o’clock field and on the reverse at E DOL.
• NGC MS65 #1749918-010: Heritage Auctions, January 4, 2018, Lot 4905 – $31,200. Breen-5478. Large/Small Date. Mostly brilliant with light golden toning at the bottom of the obverse. Light frost on devices.
• NGC MS65: Rod Sweet; “Rod Sweet & North Shore Collection, Part IV,” Bowers and Merena, July 2005, Lot 1065; “Jack Lee Collection,” Heritage Auctions, November 3, 2005, Lot 2223 – $29,900; Stack’s Bowers, November 2010, Lot 2286 – $34,500; Stack’s Bowers, March 21, 2012, Lot 4132 – $33,350; Breen-5478. Large/Small Date. Crescent toning along the upper left periphery. Fields are a rose-bisque color. Reverse displays more vibrant luster (based on images). Teal rim toning is present on the reverse as are toning spots on the eagle’s right wing and above the second T of STATES.
• NGC MS65 #1749225-015: “The Richard Jewell Collection,” Stack’s Bowers, August 13, 2011, Lot 7423 – $31,625; Heritage Auctions, May 31, 2012, Lot 3962 – $57,500. Breen-5478. Large/Small Date. Apricot toning blankets the fields of both sides. Edges are darkly toned in cerulean blue, green, and purple. Lighter toning underneath 1 of date. 

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Design

Obverse:

The obverse features Liberty seated on a rock in classical flowing robes, her head turned to the right (viewer’s left). Liberty’s left arm is bent, her raised hand holding a Liberty pole with a cap. The right arm is extended downward at her side, with the hand balancing a shield with the word LIBERTY displayed in a curving banner. Thirteen six-pointed stars surround the seated figure inside a denticulated rim, with seven on the left side, one between Liberty’s head and the cap, and the remaining five along the right. The date 1867 is centered at the bottom between the base of the rock and the rim.

Reverse:

On the reverse, an eagle is displayed prominently inside a denticulated rim. The eagle’s wings are partly spread but folded downward at the joint as if the majestic bird had just landed or perhaps instead is preparing to fly away. An olive branch is in the dexter claw (viewer’s left); the sinister claw clutches three arrows. The legend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA encircles the top two-thirds of the coin inside the rim, with the ONE DOL. denomination centered at the bottom. Most were minted at Philadelphia; branch New Orleans (O) and San Francisco (S) mintmarks are located below the eagle and above the denomination.

Edge:

The edge of the 1867 Liberty Seated Dollar is reeded.

1867 Liberty Seated Dollar Coin Specifications

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References

Julian, R.W. “The Silver Dollar, 1853-1873”, Numismatic Scrapbook Magazine. August 1964. 2124-2128. Data compiled and analyzed from the National Archives.
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