½ Dime - "Seated Liberty Half Dime" obverse legend (1870) — United States

Overview

A silver ½ Dime (5 Cents) coin of the United States, known as the 'Seated Liberty Half Dime'. The obverse features Seated Liberty looking right above her shoulder, with a Phrygian cap on a stick and a shield, and the country name around her. The reverse displays the face value within a wreath. Minted in 1870 at the United States Mint of Philadelphia as a Proof strike with a mintage of 1,000 pieces. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the coin has a milled, reeded edge.

Specifications

Country

United States

Year

1870

Composition

Silver (.900) (.100 copper)

Weight

1.24 g

Diameter

15.5 mm

Thickness

0.8 mm

Mint

United States Mint of Philadelphia

Shape

Round

Technique

Milled

References

KM# 91, PCGS# 4377-4402, 4404, etc., Greysheet# 3788-3801, 3824-3837, etc.

Issuer

United States

Design details

Collector insights

• Design heritage: Christian Gobrecht is credited as the designer for the Standard circulation coins series. Designer attribution helps distinguish this issue from later restrikes or unofficial copies that reuse only the motif.
• Struck at: United States Mint of Philadelphia. Confirm the mintmark on your example before comparing prices — same-year issues from different mints often trade at very different levels.
• Low mintage: Only 1,000 pieces reported. This puts the issue into key-date territory for its series; expect steep grade-based price scaling and a higher counterfeit risk — provenance and third-party grading matter.
• Precious metal content: Silver (.900) (.100 copper) — bullion value provides a price floor, and many circulated examples were melted during the 1979–1980 and post-2010 silver spikes, reducing the surviving population.
• Catalogue reference: Listed as KM# 91, PCGS# 4377-4402, 4404, etc., Greysheet# 3788-3801, 3824-3837, etc.. Use this reference code when cross-checking auction archives, dealer inventories, and standard printed catalogues.

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