1851 Liberty Seated Silver Dollar. OC-1. Rarity-5-. MS-63 (NGC). A legendary date in the U.S. silver dollar series, represented by a condition rarity Mint State coin. Both sides of this bright semi-prooflike example are sharply struck throughout the design. Blushes of light steely-gold toning add further appeal.<p>Beginning in 1850 the rising price of silver in international markets made it impractical for the Mint to continue producing large quantities of silver coins as they cost more than face value to produce. Such pieces completely disappeared from circulation during the early 1850s and, specific to the silver dollar denomination, mintages of circulation strikes at the Philadelphia Mint were drastically curtailed in 1850, 1851 and 1852. (The New Orleans Mint achieved a modest mintage of 40,000 pieces in 1850 from local bullion deposits.) Masses of silver coins were exported for melting, resulting in a net loss of $23 million to domestic commerce. The coins exported in 1850-1851, in fact, exceeded the total face value of all silver coins produced in the Philadelphia Mint over the course of the preceding 20 years. Circulation strike 1851 dollars, distinguished from the Proof restrikes by having the date set high in the lower obverse field, were produced to the extent of just 1,300 pieces. What few coins have survived from that delivery largely owe their existence to sharp-eyed bank tellers and others who recognized their rarity and set aside examples during the later decades of the 19th century. Uncirculated examples probably represent coins obtained directly from the Mint in 1851 or else preserved at the time of issue. We believe that fewer than 100 coins are extant in all grades. This is one of the most significant that we have handled in quite some time, and will be just right for inclusion in an advanced collection of silver dollars or Liberty Seated coinage. From Heritages Long Beach Signature Auction of September 2009, lot 926; Heritages sale of the Poulos Family Collection, August 2019 ANA Signature Auction, lot 3774.
