1855 Liberty Seated Silver Dollar. OC-1. Rarity-3+. MS-61 (PCGS).Satiny in texture and otherwise brilliant, both sides of this significant Liberty Seated dollar reveal subtle iridescent golden overtones as the surfaces rotate under a light. Striking detail is bold to sharp throughout, and the in hand appearance is uncommonly smooth for the assigned grade. The 1855 is comparable in rarity to the 1854, the circulation strike mintage of the former issue limited to 26,000 pieces. Struck at the request of bullion depositors, silver dollars from the mid to late 1850s were used in export trade, primarily to Liverpool, England or China. Only 300 or so examples of the 1855 are believed extant (per Osburn and Cushing, 2018), most of which returned to the United States from Europe in payment for goods. Mint State survivors are in the distinct minority, and they represent coins that avoided commercial use almost purely as a matter of rare chance. This is one of the leading highlights of the extensive Liberty Seated dollar offerings in this sale.From The Des Moines Collection.
