1862 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1862

Uncertainty over the war led people to hoard every kind of coin, including copper-nickel cents. Postage stamps, tokens and paper fractional currency filled the gap.

How many coins were made in 1862

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 34,903,655 coins dated 1862 across 10 issues. That is 25% more than in 1861 (27,849,783). In 1863 the figure rose to 51,767,960.

By mint: Philadelphia 33,303,905 (95%, up from 24,109,150) and San Francisco 1,599,750 (4.6%, up from 1,208,000).

Those coins held about 892,760 troy ounces of pure silver and 65,863 troy ounces of gold.

1862 coins by denomination

Cents: 28,075,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Indian Head Cent, up 178% on 1861.

Dimes: 1,027,750 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Dime, down 50% on 1861. The scarcest is the 1862-S (180,750) and the most plentiful the 1862 (847,000).

Quarters: 999,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Quarter, down 80% on 1861. The scarcest is the 1862-S (67,000) and the most plentiful the 1862 (932,000).

Half Dollars: 1,605,550 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Half Dollar, down 75% on 1861. The scarcest is the 1862 (253,550) and the most plentiful the 1862-S (1,352,000).

Gold Coins: 1,361,355 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Gold Dollar, up 158% on 1861.

Odd Denominations: 1,835,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Three-Cent Silver and Seated Liberty Half Dime, down 52% on 1861. The scarcest is the 1862 (343,000) and the most plentiful the 1862 (1,492,000).

Every 1862 circulation issue at a glance

• 1862-S Seated Liberty Quarter: 67,000 struck, 30th lowest of 108 in the series, down from 96,000 in 1861.
• 1862-S Seated Liberty Dime: 180,750 struck, 31st lowest of 116 in the series, similar to 1861.
• 1862 Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 253,550 struck, 35th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 2,888,400 in 1861.
• 1862 Three-Cent Silver: 343,000 struck, more than 55% of the series' 23 issues, down from 497,000 in 1861.
• 1862 Seated Liberty Dime: 847,000 struck, more than 51% of the series' 116 issues, down from 1,883,000 in 1861.
• 1862 Seated Liberty Quarter: 932,000 struck, more than 76% of the series' 108 issues, down from 4,853,600 in 1861.
• 1862-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 1,352,000 struck, more than 68% of the series' 116 issues, up from 939,500 in 1861.
• 1862 Gold Dollar: 1,361,355 struck, more than 95% of the series' 75 issues, up from 527,150 in 1861.
• 1862 Seated Liberty Half Dime: 1,492,000 struck, more than 80% of the series' 70 issues, down from 3,360,000 in 1861.
• 1862 Indian Head Cent: 28,075,000 struck, 25th lowest of 54 in the series, up from 10,100,000 in 1861.

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: Wartime suspension and tiny mintages

Banks stopped paying out gold at the end of 1861 and gold coins disappeared from eastern circulation. After a large 1862 mintage of 1,361,355, Philadelphia struck only a few thousand gold dollars a year through most of the 1860s and 1870s. Gold remained at a premium over paper money until specie payments resumed at the start of 1879.

Exceptions were 1873 and 1874, when production rose to 125,100 and 198,800. The 1873 comes with closed 3 and open 3 dates. The 1875, with only 400 business strikes and 20 proofs, is the lowest mintage of the type. The 1870-S, 3,000 struck, is the only San Francisco gold dollar of the period. Survivors from these years are scarce in any grade.

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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: The legend moves to the obverse

In 1860 Chief Engraver James B. Longacre removed the stars from the obverse and put UNITED STATES OF AMERICA in their place. On the reverse a larger cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves now surrounds ONE DIME. San Francisco did not receive the new dies in time. Its 140,000 dimes of 1860 still have the stars obverse and the old laurel wreath reverse, which makes the 1860-S the last of the stars type.

New Orleans struck only 40,000 dimes in 1860, a key date of the series. Louisiana left the Union early in 1861 and the mint was seized, so no New Orleans dimes were made again until 1891. Philadelphia struck 606,000 in 1860 and 1,883,000 in 1861, then just 847,000 in 1862. San Francisco made 172,500 and 180,750 in those two years.

The Civil War explains the drop. At the end of 1861 banks stopped paying out gold and silver for paper money. Within months silver coins vanished from circulation in the East and postage stamps and small paper notes took their place. Proofs continued at 1,000 a year in 1860 and 1861 and 550 in 1862. When you identify a dime from these years, the legend is the quickest clue: legend on the obverse means 1860 or later. The legend design stayed in use with only minor changes until 1891.

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Seated Liberty Half Dime: The legend moves to the obverse

In 1860 James B. Longacre replaced the stars with the words UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. The reverse now shows a cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves around HALF DIME. Philadelphia struck 798,000 of the new design and New Orleans 1,060,000. That was the last New Orleans half dime, since Louisiana left the Union early in 1861. The new reverse puts HALF DIME inside the wreath with no lettering around it, because the country's name now sits on the obverse. No San Francisco half dimes were struck in these years. The design stayed in use until the denomination ended in 1873.

Philadelphia struck 3,360,000 in 1861, a figure that includes an 1861/0 overdate visible only under strong magnification. Then the Civil War cut production. Banks stopped paying out silver at the end of 1861 and by 1862 half dimes had vanished from circulation in the East. In July 1862 Congress authorized postage currency, small paper notes that stood in for silver change. Philadelphia still struck 1,492,000 that year.

Proofs were struck at 1,000 a year in 1860 and 1861 and 550 in 1862. The legend type coins of these years are common in worn grades and make a good type coin. To spot one quickly, look at the obverse: the legend replaces the stars around Liberty. Check under magnification for the 1861/0 if you have an 1861.

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