1875

The 1875 Seated Liberty half dollar arrived at a turning point for American coinage. The arrows that had flanked the date through 1873 and 1874 were gone, and the half dollar returned to the standard With Motto configuration that had defined the denomination since 1866. The Resumption Act, signed in January 1875, set the country on a course back toward specie payments, and the Philadelphia Mint responded by pushing silver coinage to levels not seen in more than a decade. The half dollar, long a workhorse of commercial exchange, was back in heavy production after years of suppressed output during the post-Civil War paper-money era. Christian Gobrecht's seated figure of Liberty, originally introduced in 1839, continued to anchor the obverse with the familiar shield and pole, while the reverse heraldic eagle carried the "In God We Trust" ribbon adopted nine years earlier.

Philadelphia produced 6,027,500 half dollars in 1875, an enormous figure for the series and the highest annual output the denomination had seen since the early 1850s. That mintage surge translated directly into survival. The 1875 is one of the most readily available dates in the entire With Motto run, and steady type-collector demand keeps a healthy supply moving through the market in every grade from well-worn pieces to choice Mint State. Strikes from this year are typically sharp and well centered, with full head and shield detail when properly preserved. Most circulated survivors fall in the VG-to-VF range from decades of commercial use in eastern markets. Mint State examples exist in meaningful numbers but are concentrated in MS-62 through MS-64, with true gem coins genuinely scarce because few collectors set silver aside at the time. Each piece weighs 12.50 grams of .900 fine silver, the standard restored after the brief arrows-era weight adjustment, struck on a 30.6 mm planchet with a reeded edge.

For full context on design types, mintage trends, and key dates in the broader series, see the Seated Liberty Half Dollar series history.