1849

The 1849 Seated Liberty Dollar runs to 62,600 pieces at the Philadelphia Mint, with production recovering from the 15,000-piece 1848 low to a moderate level as silver-dollar coinage continued through the late 1840s. The 1849 carries the standard Christian Gobrecht obverse and the No Motto reverse that defines the series through 1865. The 1849 also represents the year that California gold began flowing east in volume following the 1848 Sutter's Mill discovery, reshaping the silver-gold ratio that would drive the 1853 silver-weight reduction act and increase pressure on silver-dollar production economics.

Strike quality on the 1849 is generally above average for the date, with Liberty's head, the seated figure's drapery, and the eagle's central feathers coming up cleanly on most early-die-state coins. Most surviving 1849 Seated Dollars grade VF to AU from circulation in the late 1840s and 1850s, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at EF and AU. Mint State examples are scarce above MS62 and condition rare at MS65 and above. The 1849 is one of the more available common-date late-1840s Seated Dollars at mid-grade.

The 1849 is a regular common date for the late-1840s Seated Dollar group and a standard mid-grade pickup at the regular pricing tier. The 1849 pairs with the 1847 and 1850 as the matched late-1840s Philadelphia trio, with the 1850 carrying its own lower-mintage Semi-Key tier despite being classed regular on this site. Authentication concerns center on cleaning, polishing, and rim damage from circulation; certified slabs from PCGS or NGC are the standard purchase route at higher grades. Long-term Seated Dollar pricing structure has held a stable tier above silver bullion content for common dates, with registry-set collectors targeting top-pop Mint State examples where strike quality and surface preservation become the limiting factors on assigned grades. For the California gold discovery context that reshaped 1850s silver economics and the broader Seated Dollar arc, see the Seated Liberty Dollar series history.