1873 $1 Seated, CAM PR63+ CAM Certification #84023282, PCGS #87021

Ron Guth

In 1873, the Mint struck the last of the Seated Liberty Silver Dollars.  Because 1873 was also the first year of the Trade Dollar, collectors had three options for proof coins with a face value of one dollar: Seated Liberty Dollar, Trade Dollar, and/or Gold Dollar.  Normally, the last year of issue of a coin generates interest among collectors, which translates into higher sales, but the population of 1873 Seated Liberty Dollars is no greater than that of any of the previous four years.  Similarly, the first year of issue for the Trade Dollar should have generated excitement, but it did not.  However, the combined sales of both the Seated Liberty and Trade Dollar Proofs was substantially higher than that of the preceding and subsequent years.

The Proof 1873 Seated Liberty Dollar is a relatively common coin in spite of its reported mintage of 600 pieces.  Cameo examples represent approximately a third of the known population and Deep Cameo examples less than a tenth.  Gem examples are very scarce and PR66 examples are very rare.  At PCGS, the finest example is a single PR67DCAM.