1873 Proof

The 1873 Seated Liberty Dollar Proof is the final-year proof of the entire Seated Liberty Dollar series, struck at the Philadelphia Mint with a documented mintage of 600 pieces per the Mint Director annual report. The 1873 Proof closes the Seated Dollar series ahead of the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 that ended standard silver-dollar production in favor of the new 420-grain Trade Dollar for Asian export. The 1873 Proof carries the standard Christian Gobrecht obverse and the With Motto reverse that defines the Type 2 era from 1866 through 1873. The live page mintage of 293,600 reflects the circulation-strike figure rather than the proof mintage.

Authentication of an 1873 Seated Dollar Proof requires careful examination of strike quality, mirrored field character, and surface preservation under five to ten power magnification. The 1873 Proof shows fully struck Liberty drapery, sharp eagle feather definition with the motto banner clearly defined, and deep mirror fields that distinguish formal proof production from business-strike prooflike examples. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC apply standard proof grading conventions across the Seated Dollar proof sequence. Cameo and Deep Cameo designations are uncommon for 1873 Proof examples.

The 1873 Seated Dollar Proof is a regular-classification proof entry on this site under the standard catalog convention for Seated Dollar proofs, with the 600-piece mintage and final-year status reflected in the prose rather than the badge tier. The 1873 Proof closes the entire Seated Dollar proof sequence and pairs with the broader 1866 Motto through 1872 With Motto P-mint proof set as the matched Type 2 proof era. Auction records for confirmed 1873 Proof examples cluster in four-figure prices for Proof-63 and Proof-64 grades, with Cameo premiums applying at higher grade levels. 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.