Lot 220
1877 Liberty Seated Half Dollar San Francisco
Sold December 11, 2025
- Price realized
- $40
Price realized is the winning bid (hammer price) and excludes buyer’s premium.
About this lot
Estimated Value: $40-100
Origin: United States
Denomination: Fifty Cents
Year: 1877
Mint: San Francisco
Grade/Condition: VF
Metal: Silver
Weight (+/- 0.2g): Estimated Total: 14.9 Grams
Additional Description: The 1877 Liberty Seated Half Dollar from the San Francisco Mint stands as one of the final expressions of a classic American design that had graced the nation’s coinage for four decades. Created by Christian Gobrecht, the obverse presents Liberty seated upon a rock, holding a shield in her left hand and a staff topped with a liberty cap in her right, a composition both graceful and emblematic of the Republic’s enduring ideals. The reverse bears the familiar heraldic eagle clutching arrows and an olive branch, its outstretched wings framed by the inscription “UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.”
By 1877, production of the Seated Liberty design was nearing its close, soon to be replaced by Charles E. Barber’s more restrained motifs. The San Francisco Mint, known for its consistently high-quality strikes, produced relatively modest numbers that year, lending these coins a certain scarcity, particularly in well-preserved condition. Their silver surfaces often reveal subtle toning from decades of careful storage, a quiet testament to their age.
The 1877-S Liberty Seated Half Dollar captures the balance between artistry and transition. It embodies both the technical mastery of nineteenth-century minting and the evolving aesthetic of a nation preparing to move into a new era of design, making it a coin of enduring historical and visual appeal.
Lot details
- Lot
- 220
- Auction
- Gold and Silver Showcase
- Closed
- December 11, 2025
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