1868 $1 MS(PCGS#6961)

1868 $1 MS (PCGS#6961)

November 2025 Showcase Auction U.S. Coins

Lot Description: A frosty and lightly toned example with only light wear to confirm the EF-40 grade. Beginning in 1868, increased production at the Comstock and other Western mines gave silver dollar coinage at the request of bullion depositors a new, although ultimately only temporary lease on life. Following the precedent set in 1859 and 1860, during the late 1860s and early 1870s, Liberty Seated dollars were increasingly looked upon as a convenient storehouse for excess silver from domestic production, virtually all of which continued to be exported to the Orient once converted into coin form. The Mexican government facilitated this process when, beginning in 1867, it placed a premium on the export of its own dollar by levying a local tax, after which Chinese merchants began to view the U.S. dollar as a more favorable alternative. These factors explain the trend toward higher yearly circulation strike Liberty Seated dollar coinage at the Philadelphia Mint beginning in 1868, when 162,100 coins were struck as opposed to only 46,900 pieces the previous year. As with virtually all issues in this series, of course, the 1868 is far rarer than the mintage might imply; most examples were destroyed through melting after export.<p>