1840

The 1840 Seated Liberty Dollar opens the regular-circulation Seated Dollar series at 61,005 pieces struck at the Philadelphia Mint, following the experimental Gobrecht Dollar pattern issues of 1836-1839. The design carries Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty obverse adapted from his Gobrecht Dollar patterns and a new perched eagle reverse from William Kneass and James B. Longacre that replaced the flying eagle. Production resumed silver-dollar coinage that had been intermittent since 1804, when the Mint suspended large-volume dollar production. The 1840 carries the No Motto reverse that defines the series through 1865, before the addition of "IN GOD WE TRUST" in 1866.

Strike quality on the 1840 is generally average for a first-year issue, with Liberty's head, the seated figure's drapery, and the eagle's central feathers coming up cleanly on most early-die-state coins but softer on later strikes. Most surviving 1840 Seated Dollars grade VF to AU from circulation in the 1840s, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at EF and AU. Mint State examples are scarce above MS62 and condition rare at MS65 and above. The 1840 represents one of the more available early-date Seated Dollars in circulated grades because of the relatively strong initial mintage.

The 1840 is a regular common date for the early Seated Dollar series and a fundamental first-year-of-issue pickup for any complete date set. Pricing trades at meaningful premiums above the more available 1840s and 1850s issues at higher grades, with the gap widening sharply at MS63 and above. The 1840 pairs with the 1841 and 1842 as the matched first-three-year Philadelphia trio that opens the regular-issue Seated Dollar series following the Gobrecht Dollar patterns. Authentication concerns center on cleaning, polishing, and rim damage in the raw market; certified slabs from PCGS or NGC are the standard purchase route at higher grades. For the Gobrecht Dollar pattern history, the Christian Gobrecht design context, and the broader Seated Dollar production arc, see the Seated Liberty Dollar series history.