In the final year of Liberty Seated dollar coinage, the mintage receded from the high point reached in 1872, though it was still large by Seated dollar standards. This date is often lumped together with 1871 and 1872 and considered common. It’s not rare, but it is tougher to find than its two younger sisters. Examples of the date are readily available. There is, however, an additional demand on the available supply, since many collectors like to add the first and/or last year of issue to their type sets. Because of this 1873 coins bring a slight premium over other common dates.

As with most common dates from the Seated dollar series high grades, up through MS63, are readily available. Well-circulated coins are a little more available for this date than for many others. Highest availability remains in the mid-VF to mid-AU grade ranges. Problem-free coins below VF are scarce, more so than the previous two Philadelphia products, but more available than many other years. That said, the population reports still show that only a little over 5% of the available problem-free coins are less than VF20.

The population reports of both major grading services show that more than 30% of the graded business strikes are mint state, a higher percentage than for most common dates. Apparently, the last year of issue was saved by many collectors of the day. The finest known examples are four coins graded MS66, two by each grading service. One of the PCGS coins is graded MS66+, the single finest example of the date. 13 additional coins have received a MS65 grade, 7 by PCGS and 6 by NGC. 40 have been graded MS64. A significant number of the grading records surely represent re-submissions, particularly among the 40 MS64 examples. Population statistics are as of February, 2019.