Miss Liberty has been featured on United States coins ever since the 1700s.
She has seen many changes over the decades, as social culture has changed.
Yet, the common ideology among all of the different images of Lady Liberty is the same.
Miss Liberty is the symbol of human freedom and freedom of thought.
Miss Liberty On U.S. Coins
The number of stylistic changes that Miss Liberty has gone through over the years is interesting to note:
- She has worn headdresses, caps, and crowns.
- She has worn flowing gowns, tight blouses, and even no upper body clothing at all.
- She has been standing, walking, and sitting.
- She has held shields.
- Her hair has been let down and pulled up in braids.
- She has even donned Native American headwear.
Miss Liberty is, in every respect, a ubiquitous national icon.
Coins Bearing Miss Liberty’s Image
The nation has recently seen a bit less of Miss Liberty on circulating coinage than in earlier decades.
Yet, when one thinks of U.S. coins, it is difficult not to associate those coins with at least one of many images of Miss Liberty.
She appears on virtually every United States coin that was made from 1793 through the middle 20th century.
Some of the popular Liberty coins are:
- Liberty Cap half cent (1793-1797) $250 to $17,500
- Flowing Hair large cents with various reverse designs (1793) $1,350 to $85,000
- Braided Hair large cent (1840-1857) $24 to $250
- Indian Head penny (Lady Liberty in Native American headwear) (1859-1909) $3 to $50
- Liberty Head nickel (1883-1912) $3 to $80
- Liberty Seated dime (1837-1891) $18 to $165
- Barber dime (1892-1916) $5 to $110
- Winged Liberty ("Mercury") dime (1916-1945) $4 to $8
- Seated Liberty quarter (1838-1891) $25 to $310
- Barber quarter (1892-1916) $9 to $250
- Standing Liberty quarter (1916-1930) $7 to $115
- Capped Bust half dollar (1807-1839) $60 to $1,550
- Seated Liberty half dollar (1839-1891) $26 to $375
- Barber half dollar (1892-1915) $18 to $485
- Walking Liberty half dollar (1916-1947) $8 to $30
- Draped Bust dollar (1795-1804) $900 to $27,000
- Morgan dollar (1878-1921) $18 to $35
- Peace dollar (1921-1935) $18 to $28
- Statue of Liberty (on reverse of the Presidential dollars) 2007-present $2 to $5
- Indian Head $10 gold eagle (1907-1933) $875 to $1,000
- Saint-Gaudens $20 double eagle (1907-1933) $1,750 to $2,000
*Prices are for the lowest-valued dates from each series.
Which Are The Most Popular?
Wow… and those are only a few of the liberty coins which have her image on them! These coins certainly show some dramatic and beautiful depictions of Miss Liberty.
Two of the most popular coins ever made are listed above:
- the Walking Liberty half dollar
- Saint-Gaudens double eagle
In fact, you may be interested to know that the obverse designs for both of these coins now grace the silver eagle bullion coin and gold eagle bullion coins, respectively. Talk about timeless designs!
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I'm a roller coaster junkie, a weather enthusiast, a frequent traveler, and a numismatist. My love for coins began when I was 11 years old. I primarily collect and study U.S. coins produced during the 20th century. I'm a member of the American Numismatic Association (ANA) and the Numismatic Literary Guild (NLG). I've also been studying meteorology and watching weather patterns for years. I enjoy sharing little-known facts and fun stuff about coins, weather, travel, health, food, and living green... on a budget.
