Seated Liberty Dollars which its obverse and reverse were both designed by Christian Gobrecht, were introduced in 1840 and continuously minted until 1873. In 1853, the value of the silver was more than the face value of the coin. The coin was continued to be minted mainly as a trade coin to be used in the Orient. This ended in 1870 when the price of silver lowered allowing the dollars to be placed back in normal circulation.

This series boasts some spectacular rarities. Of this series, the most valuable coin is the 1870-S, with 12-15 known. However, the rarest of the series is a single known 1851-O, a coin struck under unknown and mysterious circumstances.