1871-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar
Circulation strike struck at the San Francisco Mint · 2,178,000 made
- Mintage
- 2,178,000
- 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 1871-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.3600 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1871-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar rare?
- Not by date: 2.2 million were struck. A sharp uncirculated coin or a known variety is what makes one special.
- Is the 1871-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.3600 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1871 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 1871 are scarcer?
- The 1873-S, No Arrows at 5,000, the 1866-S, No Motto at 60,000, the 1873-S, With Arrows at 228,000, plus 7 more. So the 1871-S is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1871-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar coins were made?
- 2,178,000.
What to check on your 1871-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 1871-CC (153,950 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.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1871-S
San Francisco made 2,178,000 in 1871, up from 1 million in 1870. In 1872 the figure was 580,000.
1871-CC came to 153,950 and 1871 came to 1.2 million, so neither mint's 1871 coin is much scarcer than the other.
Across San Francisco's 26 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues, the hardest to find is the 1873-S, No Arrows with 5,000 made. The 1871-S is one of the easier ones. Within the 1870s it's 25th smallest of 32, between the 1876-CC (2 million) and the 1874 (2.4 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.
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 | 1871 |
| Mint | San Francisco Mint |
| Mint mark | "S" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2,178,000 |
| 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 1871 Seated Liberty Half Dollar issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1871 Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 1,204,560 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1871-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 2,178,000 | Circulation strike | 0.3600 oz |
| 1871-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar | 153,950 | 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.