1873 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1873

The Coinage Act of 1873 ended the two-cent piece, the three-cent silver, the half dime and the standard silver dollar. It also created the trade dollar for commerce in Asia. Arrows were added beside the date of dimes, quarters and halves to mark a small weight change. Critics later called the act the "Crime of '73" for dropping the silver dollar.

Last year of the Two-Cent Piece, the Three-Cent Silver and the Seated Liberty Half Dime.

How many coins were made in 1873

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 26,661,173 coins dated 1873 across 23 issues. That is 44% more than in 1872 (18,558,880). In 1874 the figure fell to 24,790,917.

By mint: Philadelphia 25,108,460 (94%, up from 16,553,550), San Francisco 1,168,000 (4.4%, down from 1,690,000) and Carson City 384,713 (1.4%, up from 315,330).

Those coins held about 1,808,098 troy ounces of pure silver and 6,052 troy ounces of gold.

1873 coins by denomination

Cents: 11,676,500 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Indian Head Cent, up 189% on 1872.

Nickels: 4,549,100 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Shield Nickel, down 25% on 1872.

Dimes: 4,431,891 struck in 6 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Dime, up 69% on 1872. The scarcest is the 1873-CC (12,400) and the most plentiful the 1873 (With Arrows) (2,377,700).

Quarters: 1,655,622 struck in 5 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Quarter, up 475% on 1872. The scarcest is the 1873-CC, No Arrows (4,000) and the most plentiful the 1873, With Arrows (1,271,160).

Half Dollars: 3,186,960 struck in 7 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Half Dollar, up 85% on 1872. The scarcest is the 1873-S, No Arrows (5,000) and the most plentiful the 1873, With Arrows (1,815,700).

Gold Coins: 125,100 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Gold Dollar, up 3474% on 1872.

Odd Denominations: 1,036,000 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Half Dime, down 73% on 1872. The scarcest is the 1873-S (324,000) and the most plentiful the 1873 (712,000).

Every 1873 circulation issue at a glance

• 1873-CC Seated Liberty Quarter, No Arrows: 4,000 struck, the lowest mintage of all 108 Seated Liberty Quarter issues, down from 22,850 in 1872.
• 1873-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Arrows: 5,000 struck, 5th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 580,000 in 1872.
• 1873-CC Seated Liberty Dime: 12,400 struck, 6th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 35,480 in 1872.
• 1873-CC Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows: 12,462 struck, 10th lowest of 108 in the series, down from 22,850 in 1872.
• 1873-CC Seated Liberty Dime (With Arrows): 18,791 struck, 9th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 35,480 in 1872.
• 1873 Seated Liberty Dime (No Arrows, Open 3): 60,000 struck, 20th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 2,395,500 in 1872.
• 1873-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Arrows: 122,500 struck, 22nd lowest of 116 in the series, down from 257,000 in 1872.
• 1873 Gold Dollar: 125,100 struck, more than 76% of the series' 75 issues, up from 3,500 in 1872.
• 1873-S Seated Liberty Quarter, With Arrows: 156,000 struck, 50th lowest of 108 in the series, up from 83,000 in 1872.
• 1873 Seated Liberty Quarter, No Arrows: 212,000 struck, more than 53% of the series' 108 issues, similar to 1872.
• 1873 Seated Liberty Half Dollar, No Arrows (Open 3): 214,200 struck, 31st lowest of 116 in the series, down from 881,550 in 1872.
• 1873-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar, With Arrows: 214,560 struck, 32nd lowest of 116 in the series, similar to 1872.

The 11 more plentiful issues are listed in the tables below.

Indian Head Cent: Open 3, Closed 3 and the rare 1877

Early 1873 cents used a date punch where the knobs of the 3 nearly touch, which looked too much like an 8. The Mint switched to an Open 3 later in the year. The Closed 3 also produced a scarce doubled LIBERTY variety. Production climbed above 14 million in 1874, then the long slump that followed the Panic of 1873 cut demand.

The 1877 is the key date of the series, with only 852,500 coined at a time when the Treasury held a surplus of minor coins and business was weak. It has been widely counterfeited, often by reshaping the last digit of an 1879 or another date, so authentication matters. The 1878 recovered only to about 5.8 million. Most survivors from these years are brown and circulated. Many 1877 cents have been cleaned or damaged, so problem free examples are especially sought after.

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Shield Nickel: Open 3, Closed 3 and the proof only years

The 1873 date punch first had a Closed 3 that looked too much like an 8, so it was replaced by an Open 3 during the year. Both varieties exist. The Closed 3 is scarcer and includes a doubled date. The Panic of 1873 and the lingering surplus of minor coins cut demand. Output fell from 3.5 million in 1874 to between 2 and 2.5 million in 1875 and 1876.

In 1877 and 1878 no nickels were struck for circulation. Only proofs were made, about 900 in 1877 and 2,350 in 1878, which makes these dates key coins for anyone completing the series. Lower grade examples exist because some proofs were spent. Business strikes from 1874 to 1876 are relatively scarce and are usually seen with moderate wear, often with the weak strike typical of the type.

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Seated Liberty Quarter: Arrows return and the redemption flood

The Coinage Act of 1873 raised the quarter slightly to 6.25 grams. Arrows again flanked the date in 1873 and 1874 to mark the change. Earlier in 1873 Philadelphia struck no-arrow quarters with both closed 3 and open 3 dates. Carson City's 1873-CC without arrows had a reported mintage of 4,000 and only five examples are known.

The Resumption Act of 1875 called for silver coins to replace the small paper notes issued during the Civil War. Quarter output exploded: Philadelphia struck 17.8 million in 1876 and 10.9 million in 1877, while San Francisco and Carson City added millions more. The 1877-S includes an S over horizontal S variety. The 1878-S, with only 140,000 struck, is the scarce date. The 1878-CC was Carson City's last quarter. Coins of 1875 to 1877 are the most common Seated quarters today.

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Seated Liberty Half Dollar: Arrows again and the silver flood

Early 1873 halves without arrows come with closed 3 and open 3 dates. The 1873-S without arrows had a reported mintage of 5,000, but no example is known today. Once the Coinage Act of 1873 set the half at 12.5 grams, arrows were added beside the date for 1873 and 1874. The 1874-CC, with 59,000 struck, is the scarce coin of that type.

From 1875 to 1877 the Mint struck halves by the millions to retire fractional paper currency. These are the most common Seated halves and the easiest to find in mint state. The flood ended abruptly in 1878. San Francisco struck only 12,000 and Carson City 62,000 that year. The 1878-S is one of the major rarities of the series. The 1878-CC is scarce as well.

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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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Two-Cent Piece: Declining demand and the proof-only finale

Once copper-nickel three-cent pieces and nickels were in circulation, demand for the two-cent piece fell year after year, from 2,938,750 in 1867 to 721,250 in 1871. The 1867 doubled die obverse shows clear doubling in the motto. Mintages for 1868 to 1870 continued the slide. Proofs were made every year of the period in runs of several hundred.

The 1872 had only 65,000 business strikes and is scarce. In 1873 only proofs were made, with closed 3 originals and open 3 restrikes, before the Coinage Act of 1873 abolished the denomination. Many two-cent pieces were later redeemed and melted, so circulated coins of the later dates are much scarcer than the early ones. The 1872 is also often counterfeited by altering a common date.

As cents returned to circulation after the war, demand for the two-cent piece fell year after year, from about 3 million in 1867 to around 65,000 in 1872. The 1867 doubled die obverse and the 1869/8 overdate are known varieties. In 1873 only proofs were struck, in Closed 3 and Open 3 versions and the Coinage Act of that year ended the denomination.

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Three-Cent Silver: Hoarding and the proof-only years

When silver was hoarded during the Civil War, the three-cent silver stopped circulating. Philadelphia struck only 21,000 in 1863 and no more than 22,000 a year after that, falling to 1,000 in 1872. The copper-nickel three-cent piece of 1865 took over its role in commerce. Proof sets of these years included the coin.

Proofs were struck each year, often in numbers close to or above the business strikes, so proofs of these dates are easier to find than circulation strikes. The 1873 was made only as a proof with a closed 3, after which the Coinage Act of 1873 ended the denomination. Many business strikes of these years were later melted. Worn examples of the late dates are rare and are sometimes mistaken for impaired proofs.

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Seated Liberty Dime: Arrows again and the lost 1873-CC

The Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 raised the dime slightly from 2.49 to 2.50 grams to fit a metric standard. Arrows went back beside the date on the new coins of 1873 and 1874. The same act ended the half dime, the three-cent silver piece, the two-cent piece and the standard silver dollar. Before the change, Philadelphia struck 1,508,000 dimes without arrows with a Close 3 in the date. Mint officials complained that the 3 looked too much like an 8, so new date punches with an Open 3 were made and 60,000 more were struck before the arrows arrived.

Carson City struck 12,400 dimes without arrows early in 1873. After the new law took effect nearly all were melted and only one is known today. The arrows coins that followed include 2,377,700 from Philadelphia, 455,000 from San Francisco and 18,791 from Carson City. In 1874 Philadelphia struck 2,939,300, San Francisco 240,000 and Carson City only 10,817. The 1873-CC and 1874-CC arrows dimes are among the hardest CC dimes to find.

To sort an 1873 dime, check for arrows first. Without arrows, look at the 3. On a Close 3 the knobs nearly touch, while on an Open 3 they stand well apart. Arrows dimes of both years are popular type coins, since they are a separate two-year design. The Philadelphia coins are the easy ones in circulated grades.

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Seated Liberty Half Dime: The last half dimes

Philadelphia struck 88,600 half dimes in 1868 and 208,000 in 1869, then 535,000 in 1870, 1,873,000 in 1871 and 2,947,000 in 1872. San Francisco made between 161,000 and 837,000 a year, except in 1870. No S half dimes were reported for that year, but a single 1870-S turned up in 1978 and is still the only one known. The 1872-S comes with the mint mark above the bow and below it. The 1871-S, with 161,000 struck, has the lowest regular S mintage of these years.

Since 1866 the copper-nickel five-cent piece had been doing the half dime's job at a lower cost. The Coinage Act of 1873 ended the silver half dime. Philadelphia struck 712,000 in that final year and San Francisco 324,000. Many half dimes were later melted. With the half dime and the three-cent silver both gone, the dime became the smallest American silver coin. Proofs ran between 600 and 1,000 a year in these final years.

Half dimes of these last years are mostly common in worn grades. The 1868 and 1869 are the scarcer Philadelphia dates, with 88,600 and 208,000 struck. For the 1872-S, check where the S sits relative to the bow. All coins of the period weigh 1.24 grams and measure 15.5 millimeters across, so a scale is a quick way to rule out a fake.

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