1850 Liberty Seated Silver Dollar. OC-1. Rarity-3. VF-30 (ANACS). OH.A pleasing example that displays blended golden-gray, pearl gray and steel-blue patina on both sides. Boldly defined for the grade with a generally smooth appearance in hand. Long recognized as one of the more elusive issues in this challenging 19th century silver dollar series, the circulation strike 1850 has a limited mintage of just 7,500 pieces. This is the lowest yearly output from either the Philadelphia or New Orleans mints since the introduction of the Liberty Seated type in 1840. With silver dollars coined at the request of bullion depositors during that era, and the price of silver relative to gold rising due to the vast quantities of the latter precious metal recently discovered in California, it makes sense that little silver bullion would have been deposited for coinage into dollars in 1850. Most survivors are in circulated grades such as VF or EF, as here, and they likely represent coins that were exported to England and subsequently repatriated to pay for domestic goods such as bales of cotton.From the Boston Old City Hall Collection.
