1878 US Coins: Values & Mintages

US coinage in 1878

The Bland-Allison Act required the Treasury to buy millions of dollars' worth of silver each month and coin it into dollars. George T. Morgan's new silver dollar was the result and the twenty-cent piece was struck for the last time, as proofs only.

New this year: the Morgan Silver Dollar.

Last year of the Twenty-Cent Piece.

How many coins were made in 1878

Counting the circulation issues on this page, US mints struck 35,020,900 coins dated 1878 across 13 issues. That is 39% fewer than in 1877 (57,386,110). In 1879 the figure rose to 43,848,300.

By mint: Philadelphia 21,624,900 (62%, down from 27,382,110), San Francisco 9,926,000 (28%, down from 16,692,000) and Carson City 3,470,000 (9.9%, down from 13,312,000).

Those coins held about 18,673,896 troy ounces of pure silver and 145 troy ounces of gold.

1878 coins by denomination

Cents: 5,797,500 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Indian Head Cent, up 580% on 1877.

Dimes: 1,877,200 struck in 2 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Dime, down 89% on 1877. The scarcest is the 1878-CC (200,000) and the most plentiful the 1878 (1,677,200).

Quarters: 3,396,000 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Quarter, down 86% on 1877. The scarcest is the 1878-S (140,000) and the most plentiful the 1878 (2,260,000).

Half Dollars: 1,452,400 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Seated Liberty Half Dollar, down 90% on 1877. The scarcest is the 1878-S (12,000) and the most plentiful the 1878 (1,378,400).

Dollar Coins: 22,494,800 struck in 3 circulation issues of the Morgan Silver Dollar. The scarcest is the 1878-CC (2,212,000) and the most plentiful the 1878 (10,508,800).

Gold Coins: 3,000 struck in 1 circulation issue of the Gold Dollar, down 23% on 1877.

Every 1878 circulation issue at a glance

• 1878 Gold Dollar: 3,000 struck, 8th lowest of 75 in the series, down from 3,900 in 1877.
• 1878-S Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 12,000 struck, 12th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 5,356,000 in 1877.
• 1878-CC Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 62,000 struck, 19th lowest of 116 in the series, down from 1,420,000 in 1877.
• 1878-S Seated Liberty Quarter: 140,000 struck, 48th lowest of 108 in the series, down from 8,996,000 in 1877.
• 1878-CC Seated Liberty Dime: 200,000 struck, 33rd lowest of 116 in the series, down from 7,700,000 in 1877.
• 1878-CC Seated Liberty Quarter: 996,000 struck, more than 79% of the series' 108 issues, down from 4,192,000 in 1877.
• 1878 Seated Liberty Half Dollar: 1,378,400 struck, more than 69% of the series' 116 issues, down from 8,304,510 in 1877.
• 1878 Seated Liberty Dime: 1,677,200 struck, more than 66% of the series' 116 issues, down from 7,310,000 in 1877.
• 1878-CC Morgan Silver Dollar: 2,212,000 struck, 31st lowest of 96 in the series.
• 1878 Seated Liberty Quarter: 2,260,000 struck, more than 86% of the series' 108 issues, down from 10,911,200 in 1877.
• 1878 Indian Head Cent: 5,797,500 struck, 7th lowest of 54 in the series, up from 852,500 in 1877.
• 1878-S Morgan Silver Dollar: 9,774,000 struck, more than 74% of the series' 96 issues.

The 1 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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Morgan Silver Dollar: Bland-Allison dollars

The Bland-Allison Act of February 28, 1878 required the Treasury to buy a minimum value of silver each month and coin it into dollars. George T. Morgan's design went into production within weeks. The first Philadelphia coins show eight tail feathers on the eagle. The count was soon cut to seven. Some dies show seven feathers punched over eight.

Carson City struck its first Morgans in 1878. New Orleans began in 1879. Most of these dollars never circulated and sat in bags in Treasury vaults for decades. When the government sold its remaining Carson City dollars by mail between 1972 and 1980, many CC coins of the early 1880s reached collectors in uncirculated condition, including the scarce 1881-CC and 1885-CC. Bag marks from that long storage are common.

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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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Twenty-Cent Piece: The short life of the twenty-cent piece

The Act of March 3, 1875 created the twenty-cent piece, promoted by Senator John P. Jones of Nevada to use western silver and ease change-making in the West. William Barber's design closely resembled the Seated Liberty quarter, but the coin is smaller with a plain edge and LIBERTY raised on the shield. It weighed exactly 5 grams. The public confused it with the quarter almost at once.

San Francisco struck 1,155,000 in 1875, by far the largest issue, while Carson City made 133,290 and Philadelphia 36,910. In 1876 Philadelphia made 14,640 and Carson City 10,000. Nearly all the 1876-CC coins were melted, leaving only a small number known. The 1877 and 1878 were struck only as proofs before Congress ended the coin in 1878.

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Seated Liberty Dime: Millions of dimes to replace paper change

The Specie Resumption Act of 1875 set out to replace the small paper notes of the Civil War with silver coin. The result was the largest dime production the country had yet seen. In 1875 Philadelphia struck 10,350,000, San Francisco 9,070,000 and Carson City 4,645,000. In 1876 the totals were 11,460,000, 10,420,000 and 8,270,000. Carson City struck 7,700,000 in 1877, more than Philadelphia's 7,310,000 that year. The arrows were removed in 1875, but the 2.50 gram weight remained.

The 1875-S and 1875-CC come with the mint mark in two places. On some coins it sits inside the wreath above the bow and on others it is below the bow, so check where yours falls. An 1876-CC doubled die obverse is also known to specialists. These huge runs make 1875 to 1877 the most common Seated dimes, including the Carson City dates. Carson City's 8,270,000 dimes of 1876 were its largest dime coinage of any year. Most of the small paper notes were exchanged for silver in these years.

By 1878 the demand had been met. Philadelphia struck 1,677,200 and Carson City only 200,000, its last dimes. San Francisco made none. If you have a dime from these years, it is likely a common date, but look closely at the mint mark for the scarcer positions and at the date and lettering for doubling.

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