1859 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1859

The Indian Head cent replaced the Flying Eagle cent in 1859. Its first-year reverse showed a laurel wreath, replaced by an oak wreath and shield the next year.

New this year: the Indian Head Cent.

How many coins were made in 1859

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 44,658,031 coins dated 1859 across 17 issues. That is 16% fewer than in 1858 (53,390,172). In 1860 the figure fell to 26,860,180.

By mint: Philadelphia 39,792,844 (89%, down from 42,955,695), New Orleans 4,134,000 (9.3%, down from 9,764,000), San Francisco 721,000 (1.6%, up from 667,000), Charlotte 5,235 (0.01%, new this year) and Dahlonega 4,952 (0.01%, up from 3,477).

Those coins held about 1,905,852 troy ounces of pure silver and 9,358 troy ounces of gold.

1859 coins by denomination

Cents: 36,400,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Indian Head Cent, up 48% on 1858.

Dimes: 970,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Dime, down 49% on 1858. The scarcest is the 1859-S (60,000) and the most plentiful the 1859-O (480,000).

Quarters: 1,683,200 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Quarter, down 79% on 1858. The scarcest is the 1859-S (80,000) and the most plentiful the 1859 (1,343,200).

Half Dollars: 4,147,200 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Half Dollar, down 65% on 1858. The scarcest is the 1859-S (566,000) and the most plentiful the 1859-O (2,834,000).

Gold Coins: 193,431 struck in 4 circulation issues of the Gold Dollar, up 47% on 1858. The scarcest is the 1859-D (4,952) and the most plentiful the 1859 (168,244).

Odd Denominations: 1,264,200 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Three-Cent Silver and Seated Liberty Half Dime, down 81% on 1858. The scarcest is the 1859 (340,000) and the most plentiful the 1859-O (560,000).

Every 1859 circulation issue at a glance

• 1859-D Gold Dollar: 4,952 struck, 17th lowest of 75 in the series, up from 3,477 in 1858.
• 1859-C Gold Dollar: 5,235 struck, 22nd lowest of 75 in the series, down from 13,280 in 1857.
• 1859-S Gold Dollar: 15,000 struck, more than 64% of the series' 75 issues, up from 10,000 in 1858.
• 1859-S Seated Liberty Dime: 60,000 struck, 19th lowest of 116 in the series, similar to 1858.
• 1859-S Seated Liberty Quarter: 80,000 struck, 33rd lowest of 108 in the series, down from 121,000 in 1858.
• 1859 Gold Dollar: 168,244 struck, more than 78% of the series' 75 issues, up from 117,995 in 1858.
• 1859-O Seated Liberty Quarter: 260,000 struck, more than 54% of the series' 108 issues, down from 520,000 in 1858.
• 1859 Seated Liberty Half Dime: 340,000 struck, 26th lowest of 70 in the series, down from 3,500,000 in 1858.
• 1859 Three-Cent Silver: 364,200 struck, more than 59% of the series' 23 issues, down from 1,603,700 in 1858.
• 1859 Seated Liberty Dime: 430,000 struck, 48th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 1,540,000 in 1858.
• 1859-O Seated Liberty Dime: 480,000 struck, 54th lowest of 116 in the series, up from 290,000 in 1858.
• 1859-O Seated Liberty Half Dime: 560,000 struck, 30th lowest of 70 in the series, down from 1,660,000 in 1858.

The 5 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Indian Head Cent: Copper-nickel years and the Civil War

James Longacre's Indian Head replaced the Flying Eagle in 1859 because the new portrait struck up more fully. The 1859 is a one year type with a laurel wreath reverse. The Mint made 36.4 million. In 1860 the Mint switched to an oak wreath with a small shield at the top, the reverse used for the rest of the series.

The Civil War changed everything. By 1862 people were hoarding all coins, including these copper-nickel cents. Private merchants issued millions of lighter Civil War tokens to fill the gap. Mint output rose to meet demand, with 28 million cents in 1862 and nearly 50 million in 1863. Copper-nickel Indian cents are thick and pale tan in color. The hard metal often left weak feather tips and diamonds on the ribbon. They wear evenly and many survive in Fine to Extremely Fine.

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Seated Liberty Quarter: Heavy output and Civil War hoarding

With the lighter standard in place, quarters circulated freely. Philadelphia struck about 7.3 million in 1856, 9.6 million in 1857 and 7.4 million in 1858. The 1856-S includes a large S over small S variety. New Orleans made its last quarters of the period in 1860 and did not strike them again until 1891.

Once banks suspended specie payments at the end of 1861, silver vanished from circulation in the East. Philadelphia output fell to 191,600 in 1863, 93,600 in 1864 and 58,800 in 1865, while San Francisco, where silver still passed at par, kept striking small runs. The 1864-S, at 20,000, is the key of the decade. From 1858 proofs were made each year in the hundreds. Several of the Civil War dates are easier to find as proofs than as business strikes.

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Seated Liberty Half Dollar: Peak branch output and the 1861-O

With the arrows gone, halves were struck in large numbers. New Orleans reached 7,294,000 in 1858. San Francisco's early halves, such as the 1856-S and 1857-S, are scarce in better grades. In 1861 New Orleans struck 2,532,633 halves under three authorities: the United States, the State of Louisiana and the Confederacy. Specialists use die markers to tell which authority struck a given coin. Four halves were also made with a Confederate reverse design.

During the Civil War silver disappeared from eastern circulation. Philadelphia mintages fell to between about 250,000 and 512,000 a year from 1862 to 1865. San Francisco, where coins still passed at face, struck more halves than Philadelphia in most of those years. Worn wartime Philadelphia halves are harder to find than their mintages suggest because many were melted later.

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Gold Dollar: Type 3 at the southern mints

The Type 3 design used a larger, flatter head that struck up better than Type 2. Philadelphia made hundreds of thousands each year, but Charlotte and Dahlonega produced only a few thousand and these coins are scarce. San Francisco struck 10,000 to 15,000 a year. Charlotte struck its last gold dollars in 1859.

The 1861-D is the famous coin of this era. After Georgia seized the Dahlonega Mint in April 1861, a small number of gold dollars were struck there under Confederate control. It is a major rarity today and is often counterfeited. Philadelphia struck 527,150 gold dollars in 1861 as the war began. Branch mint Type 3 dollars of these years are usually found in Very Fine to About Uncirculated.

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Three-Cent Silver: Type 3 brings better strikes

In 1859 the star outline was reduced to two lines and the coins struck up much more sharply. The lower relief let the dies fill properly, so stars, shield lines and the III show clearly on most coins. Mintages ran between 286,000 and 497,000 a year from 1859 to 1862, high enough that these dates are easy to find.

The 1862/1 overdate is a popular variety of this period. Proofs reached 1,000 in 1860 and 1861. Coins of these years are the best choice for a well-struck example of the denomination because they combine good mintages with the improved design. Uncirculated pieces often show attractive toning. The 1862 was the last year with a mintage in the hundreds of thousands.

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Seated Liberty Dime: Arrows removed and San Francisco begins

The arrows came off the dies in 1856, but the lighter 2.49 gram weight stayed. Philadelphia struck 5,780,000 dimes that year, in Large Date and Small Date versions. It added 5,580,000 in 1857. New Orleans kept a steady pace with 1,180,000 and 1,540,000. Demand was boosted by the Act of February 21, 1857, which ended the legal tender status of Spanish and Mexican silver. The old reales and half reales had served as small change for decades and American dimes now had to take their place. The same law ended the large copper cent and the half cent.

The San Francisco Mint struck its first dimes in 1856, only 70,000 pieces. It made none in 1857, then 60,000 in 1858 and 60,000 again in 1859. All three S dates are keys, because the coins circulated hard in the gold country and few were saved. Philadelphia output also fell sharply, to 1,540,000 in 1858 and just 430,000 in 1859. New Orleans struck 290,000 and 480,000 in those two years.

Proof mintages reached 800 in 1859, far more than in earlier years, as collecting grew. When you find a dime of 1856 to 1859, check the reverse near the bow of the wreath for an S mint mark. A worn S coin is worth far more than a well preserved Philadelphia piece of the same year.

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Seated Liberty Half Dime: Arrows removed and big Philadelphia runs

The arrows came off in 1856, though the 1.24 gram weight stayed. Philadelphia struck 4,880,000 half dimes that year and 7,280,000 in 1857, while New Orleans made 1,100,000 and 1,380,000. Spanish and Mexican silver lost its legal tender status in 1857, which raised demand for American small change. New Orleans struck more than a million half dimes in each of 1856, 1857 and 1858. That same law replaced the large copper cent with the small Flying Eagle cent.

Philadelphia's 1858 total of 3,500,000 includes a well known error, the date over inverted date. The date was first punched upside down and then corrected. Traces of the inverted digits can be seen around the date. New Orleans struck 1,660,000 in 1858. Output then dropped in 1859, to 340,000 at Philadelphia and 560,000 at New Orleans. Philadelphia's 7,280,000 coins of 1857 are the second largest half dime mintage, behind only the arrows coins of 1853.

Proofs were made in quantity from 1859, when 800 were struck. For collectors these years are an easy way to add Seated half dimes with the stars obverse, since most dates are common. Check the 1858 date with a strong glass for the inverted traces. On any coin of the period, look for the O mint mark on the reverse and judge the wear on Liberty's knee and the shield.

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