1870 Liberty Seated Silver Dollar. Proof-63 (PCGS). OGH. A fully impressed, universally reflective specimen dressed in dusky golden-gray iridescence. In 1870, the price of silver had risen enough that a typical Liberty Seated silver dollar was worth just above its face value, forcing the circulation strike coins into the export trade as well as into the hands of local bullion dealers for melting. This situation would not last for long, the steady influx of bullion from the mighty Comstock Lode would soon begin to saturate the market with the metal, leading to the eventual demonetization of silver in 1873 through what soon became known as the "Crime of 73." Even so, the Philadelphia Mint recorded that 1,000 Proof silver dollars were struck in 1870, the highest quantity since 1861, though it is likely that a fair number went unsold and were returned to be melted down for later use.
