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

1855 Liberty Seated Dollar

Coinage Context

Another "trade dollar": Like its 1854 predecessor, the 1855 Liberty Seated was primarily a trade coin. I believe that many were exported and melted.

The almighty dollar: In 1855, Washington Irving's Wolfert's Roost was published, and it contained a reference to the dollar which has been the basis of a phrase used many times since: "The almighty dollar, that great object of universal devotion throughout our land, seems to have no genuine devotees in these peculiar villages."

Numismatic Information
Circulated grades: Circulated examples of the 1855 Liberty Seated dollar are few and far between, and finding an acceptable specimen of this date has never been an easy task. However, in comparison to many other areas under the numismatic rainbow (Morgan dollars being an obvious instance), 1855 silver dollars are relatively inexpensive in proportion to their rarity.

Mint State grades: Mint State 1855 dollars are extremely rare. I have only seen a few of them in my experience over 40 years, and even large collections are apt to lack a Mint State example or to have a Proof instead. The Dr. Arthur S. Weisel Collection, dispersed by Chris Napolitano in April 1992, had an MS-62 (PCGS) coin; in nine years of looking, this was the best business strike the owner could locate (in May 1992, PCGS regraded this coin to MS-63).

In 1982, Bruce Amspacher stated that he knew of only one that could be called Uncirculated, never mind a higher grade such as MS-63 or MS-65. (Article, "Liberty Seated Dollars," in the Monthly Summary, Coin Dealer Newslelter, July-August, 1982.) Here, indeed, is one of the greatest sleepers among business strike Liberty Seated dollars. The importance of this date in this grade cannot be overestimated. All known Mint State business strikes have somewhat dullish lustre.

Proofs: Although Walter H. Breen states in his Encyclopedia on Proof coins that possibly 50 to 60 Proof 1855 silver dollars survive, my experience differs. I believe that fewer were coined and fewer exist today than of the 1854.

Proofs, rarer than those dated 1854 for some unknown reason, were made from a separate 1855 obverse die and were combined with two reverses (one of them the same used for 1854 Proofs). AU and better business strikes tend to be somewhat proof-like, and have often been catalogued as "Proofs" in the past, possibly causing a misconception of true Proof rarity in auction catalogues and other literature.

Examples of the 1855 Proof dollar were included in silver sets of the year, of which relatively few were made. As is the case with 1854 silver sets, examples are rarely seen, and I doubt if even one set per decade comes on the market either privately or through auction. Far more 1804 silver dollars (of which 15 exist) have come on the market in the past half century than have 1855 Proof sets. I estimate the number of sets minted as being fewer than 30 to 40, and even this may be on the high side. Proof cents and half cents of this date are far less rare than the silver denominations.

In addition, Proof dollars of the year were sold separately. At the time numismatists who collected United States silver dollars (coins which fit in nicely with collections of world dollar-sized or "crown" silver coins) were more numerous than were those who specialized in half dimes, for example.

It is my opinion that Proof 1855 Liberty Seated dollars are very rare, more so than popular catalogues indicate.

Varieties

Business strikes:

1.Normal Date: Breen-5452. Business strikes were made from a single pair of dies. Slanting (italic) 5s in date.

Proofs:
1. Proof issue: Breen-5452. Obverse: A different die from the preceding, also with "slanting or italic 5s in date. Date heavily impressed. Reverse: The same as used to coin 1854 Proofs (which see).
2. Proof issue: Breen-5452. Obverse: As preceding. Reverse: Leftmost white stripe in shield clear, others filled. Die striae from rim to the E of UNITED. Apparently, rarer than the preceding.
Note: Starr:599, apparently No. 2 above, had many raised die lines in the white stripes.