1865 Seated Liberty Half Dollar

About This Coin

The 1865 Seated Liberty Half Dollar is a United States half dollar from the Seated Liberty Half Dollars 1839-1891 series — 27th of 53 years in the series. In 1865, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and San Francisco Mints with a combined mintage of 1.2 million. This ranks 18th of 53 years by total mintage, below the series median of 2.1 million. The obverse features Liberty seated on a rock, holding a pole surmounted by a Phrygian liberty cap in her left hand and a shield inscribed LIBERTY in her right and the reverse displays a heraldic eagle with shield on breast, olive branch and arrows in talons, with a banner reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. Produced during the Civil War, when coin hoarding caused severe shortages and the Mint experimented with new compositions to keep coins in circulation. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 12.4 grams, 30 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $145 to $5.6K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $92K in MS65 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Thomas Sully/Christian Gobrecht.