1873

The 1873 Seated Liberty Dollar carries a 293,600-piece mintage at the Philadelphia Mint, the final year of the regular Seated Liberty Dollar series before the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 ended standard silver-dollar production in favor of the new 420-grain Trade Dollar designed for Asian export. The 1873 carries the standard Christian Gobrecht obverse and the With Motto reverse that defines the Type 2 era from 1866 through 1873. The 1873 Seated Dollar production ran from January through February before the Coinage Act took effect; the Trade Dollar then opened later in 1873 and continued silver-dollar coinage in a different format.

Strike quality on the 1873 is generally above average for the date, with Liberty's head, the seated figure's drapery, and the eagle's central feathers coming up cleanly on most early-die-state coins. Most surviving 1873 Seated Dollars grade VF to AU from circulation in the early 1870s, 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 1873 represents one of the more available late Seated Dollars at mid-grade and carries collector significance as the final-year Type 2 issue.

The 1873 is a regular common date and a standard mid-grade pickup at the regular pricing tier. The 1873 pairs with the 1873-CC and 1873-S as the matched final-year three-mint trio, with the 1873-CC as Key Date Carson City and the 1873-S as the famous phantom issue. The 1873 also pairs with the 1872 and 1871 as the closing-Philadelphia trio of the Seated Dollar series. Authentication concerns center on cleaning, polishing, and rim damage from circulation; certified slabs from PCGS or NGC are the standard purchase route at higher grades. For the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 context and the transition from Seated Dollar to Trade Dollar, see the Seated Liberty Dollar series history.