1849 Liberty Seated Silver Dollar. OC-2. Rarity-2. AU-58 (PCGS). CAC.

1849 Liberty Seated Silver Dollar. OC-2. Rarity-2. AU-58 (PCGS). CAC. Warmly toned surfaces exhibit iridescent powder blue and reddish-apricot undertones to dominant pewter gray patina. James Wilson Marshall's now famous discovery at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California on January 24, 1848, triggered a gold rush that soon upset the balance between gold and silver on the world market. So much of the precious yellow metal was mined in California that silver became rare relative to gold. Additional gold discoveries in Australia in 1850 resulted in further imbalance, and by that year it cost $1.013 in metal to make a Liberty Seated dollar. Silver coins of all denominations were withdrawn from circulation and hoarded domestically or, more commonly, exported to Europe for a profit and subsequently melted. Liberty Seated dollars, being large storehouses of silver that were already held in quantity by banks and bullion brokers, were among those coins that suffered the most immediate and extensive effects of this upheaval. Recently produced and therefore more plentiful in significant domestic dollar holdings, the 1848, 1849, 1850 and 1850-O suffered a higher rate of attrition through export and melting at this time than the earlier dated issues from 1840 through 1847. Indeed, the 1849 is scarcer and more challenging to locate than a relatively generous mintage of 62,600 pieces might imply. Provenance: From a Collection of American Silver Classics. CAC Stickered Population: 58 in all grades. PCGS# 6936. NGC ID: 24YL. Click here for certification details from PCGS.

Estimate:$1

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