Q. David Bowers
S.K. Harzfeld's saleof the J, Colvin Randall and J.C. Roach Collections, Nov. 26-27, 1880, included the following Liberty Seated dollars, among others. Note the comment concerning the mintage of the 1858 Proof dollar.
1851 Proof, slightly tarnished in the field. Extremely rare. $40.00.
1855 Proof. Extremely rare. $20.00.
1856 Brilliant Proof. Extremely rare. $20.00.
1857 Proof, stars sharp, field slightly haymarked. Extremely rare. $6.50.
1858 Proof. I would here remark, upon the authority of Mr. J. Colvin Randall, that there were not over 75 of these dollars coined, and of this number, some undoubtedly must have been melted during the late war. As there are hundreds of collectors of dollars in the United States, the rarity of these pieces must be apparent to every collector. $38.25.
George Cogan's sale of the Charles P. Britton Collection, January 29, 1883, included these rare Liberty Seated dollars, among others.
1851 Brilliant Proof. Excessively rare. $68.00.
1852 Brilliant Proof. Excessively rare. $68.00.
1853 Brilliant Proof. Excessively rare. $40.00.
1854 Brilliant Proof. Excessively rare. $43.00.
W. Elliot Woodward's sale of the Ely Collection, January 8-10, 1884, included the following Liberty Seated dollars, among others. Note that the 1852 is described as an original (but nothing is said about the 1851). At the time, few cataloguers mentioned originals or restrikes in connection with the 1852 dollar.
1851 Splendid Proof, extremely rare. $51.00
1852 Very Fine original, from Judge Putnam's Collection. $42.00.
1853 Splendid Proof, very rare indeed/Cohen Collection, No. 554, described by Mr. Cogan as a beautiful Proof and very desirable. $17.00.
1854 Very fine Proof, extremely rare. No. 115, Seavey Sale, Sept. 23, 1863. $28.00.
1856 Splendid Proof, minute blemish near one of the stars; very rare as Proof Smith Sale, No. 35. $35.00.
1858 Splendid Proof; as all collectors know, one of the very rarest of the series. $33.00.
Lyman H. Low's sale of the Dr. Henry R. Linderman Collection, June 28, 1887. One might presume that the Liberty Seated dollars offered below are restrikes made during his Linderman's numismatically checkered tenure as Mint director, or else they were obtained from earlier insiders.
1851 Beautiful sharp Proof. $51.00.
1851 Duplicate; not quite so boldly struck; the stars on left and top of hair lack sharpness, otherwise a perfect Proof. $48.00.
1852 Sharp, perfect Proof. $65.00.
1852 Duplicate; equally perfect. $60.00.
S.H. and H. Chapman's sale of the W.M. Friesner Collection, April 5-6, 1888, included these Liberty Seated dollars. (In 1894, another of Friesner's collections was auctioned by Ed. Frossard.)
1841 Fine $1.10.
1842 VF $1.50.
1843 VF $1.50.
1846 VF $1.50.
1848 VG Scarce. $1.50.
1853 EF $1.70.
1855 VG Rare. $3.50.
1856 Good $2.00.
1807 VG $1.35.
1862 Uncirculated $1.30.
1871 Uncirculated. Brilliant mint lustre. $1.20.
1872 Uncirculated. Briliiant mint lustre. $1.15.
S.H. and Henry Chapman's sale of the Ferguson Haines Collection, October 17-18, 1888, contained a nice run of Philadelphia Mint Liberty Seated dollars, plus a solitary mintmark (1846-O). At the time, mintmarks were generally ignored by numismatists.
1840 Fine $1.50.
1841 Fine $1.50.
1842 VF $1.15.
1842 Fine $1.10.
1843 Unc. Proof surface. $1.85.
1844 Unc: $2.12.: ....
1845 VG. Scarce. $1.20.
1846 EF $1.15.
1846-O EF $1.10.
1847 EF $1.20 ..
1848 EF. Lustre. Scarce. $1.50.
1848 Good. Scarce. $1.10.
1849 VF $1.25.
1850 VF. Slight Proof surface. $1.65.
1851 Proof. Sharp, even impression. Extremely rare. $52.50.
1852 Unc. Extremely rare. $46.50. 1853 Unc. $3.00.
1854 Proof. Field slightly rubbed. Extremely rare. $11.00.
1854 EF. Very rare. $5.50.
1855 Proof. Superb specimen. Sharp impression. Extremely rare. $27.50.
1855 Good. Rare. $2.25.
1856 Proof. Sharp impression. $12.50.
1857 Proof surface. Slightly weak, as usual. $2.25.
1858 Proof. Sharp impression. Very rare. $43.00.
1859 Proof $1.50.
1860 Proof. Weak impression on head. $1.10.
1861 Unc. mint lustre. $3.50.
1862 Proof $2.10.
1863 Proof. Rare. $2.00.
1864 Proof. Rare. $2.25.
1865 Proof. Rare. $1.87.
1866 Proof $1.50.
1867 Proof $1.70.
1868 VF $1.20.
1869 Proof $1.60.
1870 Proof $1.50.
1871 Proof $1.50.
1872 Proof $1.35.
1873 Proof $1.25.