Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States - A Complete Encyclopedia

1871 Liberty Seated

Coinage Context
Distribution: While many 1871 Liberty Seated dollars probably were exported to China, the mintage was so large that pieces are common today. It is likely that large numbers remained stateside in Treasury vaults and were released into circulation beginning in autumn 1876, when specie payments were resumed. Some were returned to the Treasury, bagged, and not released until 1962-1964. The 1871 Liberty Seated silver dollar was the first with a mintage to cross the million mark, and was just one of two dates to achieve this level, the other being 1872.

Numismatic Information
Circulated grades: Of all Liberty Seated dollars, the 1871 is the most available date today. Examples are readily available in VF, EF, and AU grades and make ideal candidates for inclusion in a type set to illustrate the 1866-1873 Liberty Seated design with the motto IN GOD WE TRUST on the reverse.

In 1963, when James F. Ruddy and I had the enjoyable experience of sorting through quantities of circulated Liberty Seated dollars obtained from the Federal Reserve during the great Treasury distribution, we found many 1871 dollars. These were nearly all in VF and EF, with light brown-gray toning.

Mint State grades: Although Walter H. Breen in his Encyclopedia of United States and Colonial Coins states that two bags (2,000 coins total) of Uncirculated specimens were released by the Treasury in 1962-64, my experience concerning the availability of Mint State pieces does not confirm this, although there are indeed at least a couple hundred or more Mint State coins extant. (The information in the Encyclopedia is probably erroneous, and may have derived from Ron Severa (below). Walter H. Breen, in a letter dated February 12, 1992, asked me to verify these bags with Harry Forman. Upon endeavoring to do so, I learned that Harry Forman handled at the most a few dozen Uncirculated pieces. In an article, "Liberty Seated Dollars - Scarcity / Availability," in The Gobrecht Journal, March 1977, Ron Severa stated: "Two bags released by Gov't." For dollars of 1859-O and 1860-O he wrote that one bag each was released. For 1872 dollars he simply stated, "Available in most listings," and did not mention government hoards.)
I have seen a few Mint State coins with lightly etched surfaces, said to have been retrieved from a shipwreck of unknown location and details.

Bruce Amspacher stated in 1982 that Mint State 1871 dollars were offered regularly and by the roll on the Teletype and stated that "in fact, they are flooding the market." (Article, "Liberty Seated Dollars," in the Monthly Summary, Coin Dealer Newsletter, July-August, 1982.) Recently, Bruce Amspacher wrote the following letter concerning the situation: (Letter to the author, datelined 2 a.m. (!), June 24,1992.)

I need to explain something. In 1982, I wrote a series for Coin Dealer Newsletter about Liberty Seated dollars. You have quoted it many times in your book. Thank you. However, what I wrote about the 1871 Seated dollar was meant as sarcasm. Unfortunately, it has been quoted elsewhere as gospel. Here's what happened:

In 1982 I was having a continuous verbal war with the press, both numismatic and non-numismatic. They were running a series of articles. that I thought were extremely negative. The thrust of the articles was that coins were overpriced and dealers were all crooked and coins weren't really rare, etc. At least that was how I interpreted them. In fairness to the press, I was in a constant state of agitation about many things back then, so I'm sure I would react differently today-if I reacted at all. Anyway, I was poking fun at the press in the Liberty Seated dollar article I wrote. I don't have a copy of the article in front of me, but I said something like this: "1871 Seated dollars are common in gem condition. Original rolls are offered on the teletype every day. In fact, they are flooding the market.

Unscrupulous dealers actually try to tell people that they're rare. Oops, excuse me. For a moment there, I thought I was writing an article for The Wall Street Journal. "

I'm really sorry I ever wrote these words. The "humor" failed completely, my intent was misinterpreted, and even today those lines reach out of the past and bite me now and then. So .... I hope I've cleared that one up.

Upon rereading my Adventures With Rare Coins book, published in 1979, p. 98, I came across this statement: "A bag of 1871 Uncirculated silver dollars came to light and was purchased intact by an investor who, as of this writing, still has it." I considered the news to be reliable at the time. However, later I received information from an individual who examined the inventory of the investor (a prominent Eastern rare coin dealer) in question, and I was told that the firm never had such a bag.

While Mint State coins are not rarities, their availability cannot in any way be compared to, for example, the 1860-O, the latter being offered frequently on the market. If it were not for the bag of 1,000 coins I mentioned in my 1979 book, I would say today that it is my opinion that several hundred Mint State 1871 dollars were released by the Treasury during 1962-1964, probably mixed in with other coins. I have not been able to confirm the existence in the 1960s or now of any full bags.

Proofs: The mintage this year was a generous 960 Proof dollars, the second highest (1870 is highest) of the later Liberty Seated series with motto IN GOD WE TRUST. Most were sold as part of minor and silver Proof sets, which were delivered at widely spaced intervals throughout the year, perhaps indicating a constant demand for them. The final delivery of no in November (see Summary of Characteristics below) is a rather precise figure and may indicate that all minted earlier had been sold up to that date. It was the Mint's custom to produce coins and have them "on the shelf' through the end of the year. Unsold pieces remaining after January 1st of the following year would either be melted or kept on sale.