Depicts the figure of Liberty seated on a rock, draped in a loose-fitting gown—suggesting statuary from Hellenistic Greece. She is looking over her right shoulder, her right arm supporting the Union shield with the inscription LIBERTY. Her left arm holds a long pole with a Liberty cap on top. The date is placed below the seated figure. C. GOBRECHT F. ("F" is an abbreviation for the Latin word fecit, or “made it”) on the base of the rock. 13 stars above seated Liberty.

The design was based on the concept of Britannia, who appeared on British coinage. Artist Thomas Sully made a number of sketches from which assistant engraver Christian Gobrecht executed the designs.

Depicts a bald eagle in flight, the bird rising “onward and upward”, a position intended to symbolize the unbounded optimism that Americans had for the nation’s future. The eagle flies amid a field of 26 large and small stars, representing the thirteen original states and the thirteen admitted to the Union since 1789 (anticipating Michigan’s entry).

According to a common story, the flying eagle seen on the Gobrecht dollar was modeled after Peter, the Mint's pet eagle, who was taxidermied after his death by becoming caught in a coining press and remains on display at the Mint to this day.

Designed by Christian Gobrecht based on a sketch by Titian Peale.