Values
A Trade dollar’s market depends on the date, the mint, and whether merchants in Asia chopped it. This page is a series reference, not a price list.
The mintage chart leaves the grade columns blank. The NGC US Coin Price Guide extract retrieved 2026-08-21 does not include Trade dollars. Do not turn a PCGS mintage into an offer.
Chopmarks are part of the coin’s work life. A dealer still has to see the coin. Start with how to sell a coin collection if the goal is a sale.
Key Dates
This page will not bold a row. Business strikes end in 1878, and the later dates are proofs. Proofs are not circulation keys and they are not on this chart. 1878-CC is a short Carson City mintage. Short is not the same word as key until a publisher’s list says so.
Errors
1875-S/CC. A variety inside the San Francisco mintage. PCGS prints the same regular-strike figure on that variety page as on 1875-S. This chart has one S row.
Chopmarks. Banker and merchant marks from circulation in East Asia. They are not a mint error and they are not a second mintage.
1879–1885 proofs, and 1878 Philadelphia. Proof only. They stay off the business-strike chart.
Compare the coin to the NGC Coin Explorer Trade dollar page and the PCGS CoinFacts category. We do not host their plates.
Varieties
Trade dollars do not split into design types. A chop is a merchant’s punch from trade in Asia. This page already says a chop is not automatically damage. The overmintmark is the die variety guides name.
- ChopmarkA punch from circulation in trade. It is not a die variety and not a grade. Leave it alone. Do not try to fill it.
- 1875-S/CCAn S punched over CC. Guides name the overmintmark. This page does not print a separate count.
Names follow PCGS CoinFacts and NGC, the same publishers this site already cites. This is a name list, not a price list and not a count.
Mintage
Business strikes only. The counts are PCGS CoinFacts regular-strike mintages.
| Year | Mint | Mintage | G | VF | MS-63 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1873 | P | 396,635 | — | — | — |
| 1873 | CC | 124,500 | — | — | — |
| 1873 | S | 703,000 | — | — | — |
| 1874 | P | 987,100 | — | — | — |
| 1874 | CC | 1,373,200 | — | — | — |
| 1874 | S | 2,549,000 | — | — | — |
| 1875 | P | 218,200 | — | — | — |
| 1875 | CC | 1,573,700 | — | — | — |
| 1875 | S | 4,487,000 The 1875-S/CC variety uses this same PCGS regular-strike total. It is not a second row. | — | — | — |
| 1876 | P | 455,000 | — | — | — |
| 1876 | CC | 509,000 | — | — | — |
| 1876 | S | 5,227,000 | — | — | — |
| 1877 | P | 3,039,200 | — | — | — |
| 1877 | CC | 534,000 | — | — | — |
| 1877 | S | 9,519,000 | — | — | — |
| 1878 | CC | 97,000 | — | — | — |
| 1878 | S | 4,162,000 | — | — | — |
Mintage: the note under this table names the page that printed each count. These figures are not an NGC Coin Explorer extract and they are not the 1974 Mint pamphlet.
Collector-standard year/mint presentation follows A Guide Book of United States Coins (the Red Book). These cells are Mint manufacture figures, not a Red Book net or melt.
Values: NGC US Coin Price Guide, retrieved 2026-08-21. Guide values, not offers. Not melt. NGC IDs link to the same publisher’s price-guide listing.
Key date names: PCGS CoinFacts (2026-08-21). Bold rows are only dates that publisher named.
Regular-strike mintages are PCGS CoinFacts, read from archived CoinFacts pages for category 743 on 2022-05-11, except 1877-S read from the 2022-08-21 archive. Proofs from 1873 through 1885 stay off. 1878 Philadelphia is proof-only. The 1875-S/CC variety uses the same PCGS mintage as 1875-S and is not a second row.
Philadelphia, Carson City, and San Francisco struck the circulation dates. 1878 has no Philadelphia business strike on this chart. 1879 through 1885 are proofs and stay off. The 1875-S/CC variety is not added on top of 1875-S.
Read the reverse. TRADE DOLLAR and 420 GRAINS are the type.
Specifications
These are mint specs, not what a dealer pays. Wear can take a little weight off. We will not invent a tolerance. A Trade dollar was struck heavier than the domestic silver dollar so it could compete with the Mexican dollar in trade. This site’s melt calculator has no Trade dollar preset, so this page will not invent a fine-silver troy ounce.
| Specification | Figure |
|---|---|
| Diameter | 38.1 mm |
| Thickness | Not printed |
| Weight | 27.22 g Numista; Stack’s Bowers prints 27.21 g |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Designer | William Barber |
Diameter 38.1 mm and 90% silver are on both the Numista type page (N#16466, weight 27.22 g) and the Stack’s Bowers Trade dollar page (weight 27.21 g, 419.91 grains). The reverse legend says 420 GRAINS, 900 FINE. Neither catalog prints a thickness. This site has no Trade dollar melt preset, so no fine-silver troy ounce is invented here. This is not a Seated Liberty dollar.
Grading
A Trade dollar wears first on Liberty’s extended hand and the eagle’s head. Chopmarks are punches from trade. They are not a grade and they are not something to fill in.
The reverse says TRADE DOLLAR and 420 GRAINS. A Seated Liberty dollar does not. A Morgan does not.
Key Diagnostic Areas
| Area | What to examine | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty’s hand and knee | The hand holding the branch, and the knee on the bale. | Those high points go flat first. A weak hand on both sides of a chopmarked coin can still be wear. |
| Eagle’s head | The head and the upper wing on the reverse. | The head flattens while TRADE DOLLAR can still be sharp. |
| Chopmarks | Punched characters, usually on the reverse or in the fields. | A chop is a mark of circulation in trade. Do not tool it out. Do not call a clean coin better just because it was never chopped. |
| Legend and mint mark | TRADE DOLLAR, 420 GRAINS, and the mint mark under the eagle. | The legend is the type. The mint mark is the row. Proof-only dates are not this chart. |
Circulated & Mint State
These cards describe this coin, not a second copy of the P-1 through MS-70 chart. The shared numbers live on the glossary.
See graded photos. The photos that show what VF looks like live at PCGS. We do not host their plates. PCGS CoinFacts is the catalog page for this series. NGC Coin Explorer is another look if you want a second set.
What each named grade looks like on this design.
Poor
Poor
A disk you can still call a Trade dollar if you already know the type.
- Liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head are gone.
- The date may be a shadow. Do not scrape it.
- Shine does not make this a better coin.
AG
About Good
You might read a digit. The high points on this Trade dollar are already slick.
- Liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head are worn to a blank patch.
- If you cannot read the date without hoping, stay here.
- A 1877-S is still this grade if it is this worn.
Good
Good
The date is readable. The design is still mostly an outline.
- Liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head are flat. The type is an outline, not a portrait.
- The rim should be full enough to hold the legend.
- This is a worn coin, not a details story.
VG
Very Good
The date is clear. A little life returns away from the high points.
- Some leftover detail sits away from liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head.
- The high points are still tired.
- Do not clean the date to “see it better.”
Fine
Fine
You can follow the design. The high points are outlined, not sharp.
- Liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head are outlined and flat — no real sharpness yet.
- The rest of the coin can look busier than the grade.
- The date should be clear. The mint mark should be too, if there is one.
VF
Very Fine
The type is doing real work. Liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head still decide.
- Leftover detail sits on liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head. The centers are still the worn spot.
- Marks do not raise the grade.
- A regular 1877-S is still this grade if it is this worn.
EF
Extremely Fine
Most of the coin looks sharp. The high points tell on it.
- Light wear on liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head.
- The rest of the coin can look better than the grade. Trust the high points.
- The date should be sharp.
AU
About Uncirculated
Almost no wear — and “almost” lives on the same high points.
- A trace of rub on liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head.
- Luster may still sit in the fields. Rub on those high points is still rub.
- A bright coin with a slick high point is still slick.
Basal MS
Mint State
No wear. The fight is marks and luster, not how white the coin looks.
- No rub on liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head.
- Marks and luster decide how this mint-state coin lives.
- A bright chewed-up coin is still chewed-up.
Choice
Choice Mint State
Still no wear. Cleaner fields than basal mint state.
- Same no-wear rule on liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head.
- Fewer marks in the fields. Luster is more intact.
- White is not a grade.
Gem
Gem Mint State
A clean Trade dollar for this type. Still mint state, still not a story.
- No wear on liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head.
- Marks and luster, not a romance about a date or a white field.
- A slab is an opinion in plastic. The glossary has the numbers.
Proofs run through 1885, and 1878 Philadelphia is proof-only. This page does not invent a PR price grid. The proof numbers live on the glossary.
Copper color designations do not apply to this silver coin. See the Lincoln Wheat cent and the glossary.
Overview
A Trade dollar is the silver trade coin of 1873–1878 with Liberty seated on a bale of goods and an eagle on the back. William Barber designed it. The reverse says TRADE DOLLAR and 420 GRAINS, 900 FINE. It is not the Seated Liberty dollar, and it is not the Morgan dollar that follows in 1878.
People like them because the weight is printed on the coin and because chopmarks tell a travel story. The story is not a grade.
This page is a series article, not a shop listing.
History
The Coinage Act of 1873 authorized the Trade dollar for export. Philadelphia, Carson City, and San Francisco struck business strikes. In 1876 the coin’s legal-tender status at home was revoked. Business strikes stopped in 1878. Proofs continued in small numbers through 1885, including the very rare 1884 and 1885 proofs. Those proofs are not rows here.
Design
Obverse: Liberty seated on a bale, facing the sea, an olive branch in her hand, a ribbon reading LIBERTY, wheat behind, stars above, IN GOD WE TRUST, and the date. Reverse: an eagle with arrows and a branch, E PLURIBUS UNUM, 420 GRAINS, 900 FINE., UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, and TRADE DOLLAR. The mint mark sits under the eagle.
Look at Liberty’s hand and the eagle’s head. Those go flat. A chop is a punch. Do not try to fill it.
People Also Ask
What years are Trade dollars?
Business strikes run from 1873 through 1878 at Philadelphia, Carson City, and San Francisco. 1878 Philadelphia is proof-only. 1879 through 1885 are proof-only and stay off this chart.
How much is a Trade dollar worth?
It depends on the date, the mint, chopmarks, and the grade. This page does not print guide prices. A chopmarked coin is a coin that circulated in trade. It is not automatically damaged, and it is not automatically rare.
Is a Trade dollar a Seated Liberty dollar?
No. The Seated dollar is the domestic dollar through 1873. The Trade dollar is heavier, marked TRADE DOLLAR, and states 420 GRAINS, 900 FINE on the reverse. They have separate pages.
Why is 1875-S/CC not its own row?
PCGS CoinFacts prints the same regular-strike mintage on the 1875-S/CC variety as on 1875-S. That is one San Francisco total, not two.
Collector Considerations
Buy the coin, including its chops if it has them. A cleaned dollar with no chops is not “better” than an honest chopmarked one. It is a different coin.
The type photograph is an 1873 Trade dollar from the National Numismatic Collection, not a Seated dollar and not a grade plate.
If you inherited a handful, do not scrub the ribbon. The coin dealer directory starts in Ohio.
For the domestic dollar that ends as this one begins, read the Seated Liberty dollar. For the dollar that takes over everyday silver in 1878, read the Morgan dollar.
A Final Word
Trade dollars reward a look at the reverse legend. If it says TRADE DOLLAR, you are on this page. If it does not, you are holding a different dollar.
When you want the Morgan, that page is already here.