1867 $1 Seated Liberty Silver Dollar NGC PR66

Introduction

The 1867 Seated Liberty Silver Dollar graded NGC PR66 is an exceptional Gem Proof example of one of America’s most enduring nineteenth-century silver coin designs. Certified Proof 66 by Numismatic Guaranty Company (NGC), this remarkably well-preserved coin combines a high level of preservation with the scarcity and historic significance of a low-mintage proof issue. With just 625 proofs originally struck, the 1867 Seated Liberty Dollar represents a noteworthy opportunity for advanced collectors of classic United States silver coinage.

History

The Seated Liberty Dollar was introduced in 1840 and remained in production through 1873. Designed by Christian Gobrecht, the series was part of the broader Seated Liberty family that appeared across several silver denominations during the nineteenth century. By the 1860s, silver dollars saw limited use in domestic commerce, with much of the denomination’s production serving other monetary and commercial purposes.

In 1867, the Philadelphia Mint struck 46,900 Seated Liberty Dollars for circulation along with just 625 proofs for collectors. Produced only two years after the end of the Civil War, the issue emerged during Reconstruction as the nation confronted the enormous task of rebuilding and reunification. Proof survivors provide a tangible connection to this transformative period, while an NGC PR66 example preserves the design at an exceptional Gem Proof level more than a century and a half after it was struck.

Design

The obverse features Liberty seated upon a rock, holding a pole topped by a Liberty cap in her left hand and supporting a shield inscribed with LIBERTY in her right. Thirteen stars representing the original states surround the figure, with the date positioned below. Gobrecht’s classical composition became one of the defining designs of nineteenth-century American silver coinage.

The reverse depicts a heraldic eagle with a Union shield across its breast, holding an olive branch and arrows in its talons as symbols of peace and military preparedness. The inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and ONE DOL. identify the issuing nation and denomination, while the motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears on a ribbon above the eagle. Added to the regular Seated Liberty Dollar design in 1866, the motto distinguishes this later type from the No Motto issues that preceded it.