1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 994,000 made
- Mintage
- 994,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 12.44 g
- Diameter
- 30.6 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto rare?
- Somewhat. 994,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3600 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1866 Seated Liberty Half Dollar?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia halves have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is S, for San Francisco.
- Which San Francisco dates near 1866 are scarcer?
- The 1866-S, No Motto at 60,000, the 1869-S at 656,000, the 1864-S at 658,000, plus 3 more. So the 1866-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto coins were made?
- 994,000.
What to check on your 1866-S
- Make sure the mint mark really is an S. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1866-S (60,000 made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the shield is the benchmark for Fine. Check the high points of Liberty's knees and breast.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1866-S
San Francisco ramped up hard in 1866: 994,000 coins, about 17 times the 1866 run. The next year it made 1.2 million (1867-S).
1866-S came to 60,000 and 1866 came to 745,625, so neither mint's 1866 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1870-S (1,004,000) and the 1875-CC (1,008,000).
San Francisco struck the Seated Liberty Half Dollar in 26 issues between 1855 and 1878. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1873-S, No Arrows (5,000). Within the 1860s it's 17th smallest of 23, between the 1861-S (939,500) and the 1868-S (1.2 million).
Motto above the eagle and Carson City (1866 to 1872)
IN GOD WE TRUST was added on a scroll above the eagle in 1866. San Francisco struck both the old and new reverses that year. The 1866-S without motto, with 60,000 made, is scarce. Philadelphia mintages ran from about 418,000 to 1.2 million a year, while San Francisco often struck more than one million.
The Carson City Mint struck its first halves in 1870. The 1870-CC, with 54,617 made, is the key. Carson City halves of 1871 and 1872 are scarce in all grades. Many Nevada-struck halves circulated in the mining West and survive heavily worn, scratched or cleaned. Mint state CC halves of these years are major rarities, so most collectors settle for a sound Fine or Very Fine coin.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1866
The five-cent nickel arrived in 1866 with the Shield design. The motto "In God We Trust" was added to silver dollars, half dollars, quarters and the larger gold coins.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with HALF DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes and IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Half Dollar (1839–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 994,000 |
| Face value | 50¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 12.44 grams |
| Diameter | 30.6 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.3600 troy oz (11.196 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1866 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1866 Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto | 745,625 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Motto | 60,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1866-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Motto | 994,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
Mintage: United States half dollar mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.