1871 Seated Liberty Dime (1837-1891)

Intriguing History

In 1871, the country was working through Reconstruction's turbulent politics under Presidents Johnson and Grant, an era of both promise and corruption, culminating in the nation's 1876 Centennial celebrations even as an economic panic in 1873 and a controversial demonetization of silver dollars roiled the currency debate. This Seated Liberty dime, Christian Gobrecht's design that anchored small silver coinage for over half a century, was struck during exactly this period.