1846-O Liberty Seated Dollar ICG AU50. Low mintage of just 59,000.
According to Q. David Bowers in “Silver Dollars & Trade Dollars of the United States: A Complete Encyclopedia” (Wolfeboro, NH: Bowers and Merena Galleries, Inc., 1993): After construction commencing in 1835 and the setting up of equipment in 1837, the New Orleans Mint opened for business in 1838. However, it struck no silver dollars until 1846. This was the first of only four dates of Liberty Seated dollars from this mint: 1846-O, 1850-O, 1859-O, and 1860-O. Although some 1846-O dollars may have been exported, and most likely many were melted, many also circulated within the confines of the United States, probably in the Mississippi Valley.
The Assay Commission found that silver coins (of all denominations, taken as a class) from the New Orleans Mint produced in 1846 assayed a remarkably high. 9011 fine, which was above the legal standard (but still within the legal tolerance of .987 to .903); This was far out of the range of normal variation from the .900 standard, as reflected in Assay Commission reports.
The 1846-O has always been relatively easy to find in circulated grades below Extremely Fine (but EF or better pieces are quite rare). I suspect that this issue circulated widely and saw use in the channels of commerce up and down the Mississippi River Valley, especially riverboats (which numbered in the hundreds) and casinos. Relatively few must have been melted or exported. As the first branch mint silver dollar and as an issue of the New Orleans Mint, the 1846-O has always occupied a place of affection in collectors’ hearts.
