Mr. Christian Gobrecht, the 3rd Chief Engraver of the United States Mint, spent a lifetime as an artist, rising to the Chief Engraver post late in his career. He has left a legacy of beautiful coins and now-classic designs that are avidly sought by a large group of collectors today. His Seated Liberty design is arguably his most faamous, at least for collectors of classic United States silver. The other half of that argument can probably be made by serious collectors of United States gold – that his Liberty Head image, released in the late 1830’s – is his premier work. But let’s examine Mr. Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty image and do so from what might be a couple of intriguing new angles.
Mr. Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty
Prior to the unveiling of the Seated Liberty design, United States coins, be they
