1852

The 1852 Seated Liberty Dollar carries a 1,100-piece mintage at the Philadelphia Mint, the second-lowest circulation-strike Seated Dollar mintage of the entire series after the 1,300-piece 1851 and the matched companion to the 1851 in the apex Key Date pair. The 1852 carries the standard Christian Gobrecht obverse and the No Motto reverse that defines the series through 1865. The very low production reflects the same silver-gold ratio crisis that had suppressed 1851 dollar coinage, with California gold continuing to depress silver prices through 1852.

Strike quality on the 1852 is generally sharp, with the tiny mintage keeping dies fresh and Liberty's head, the seated figure's drapery, and the eagle's central feathers coming up cleanly on most coins. Most surviving 1852 originals grade VF to AU from limited circulation, with PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC populations clustering at VF and EF. Mint State examples are genuinely rare at all levels above MS62. The 1852 is also widely restruck as a proof-only restrike issue dated 1852 but produced later for collector demand; the original proof and the restrike proof entries are catalogued separately on this site, and the circulation-strike original is distinguished by its surface character.

The 1852 is a recognized Key Date and one of the two apex circulation-strike Philadelphia Seated Dollars alongside the 1851. Pricing trades at premium levels at every grade, with the climb to MS63 substantial and the gap from MS63 to MS65 dramatic. The 1852 pairs with the 1851 as the matched 1,300-piece and 1,100-piece Key Date pair that defines the apex tier of the entire Philadelphia Seated Dollar circulation-strike series. Counterfeit and altered 1852 examples exist; certified slabs from PCGS or NGC are essential at any meaningful price level. For the 1852 production context, the silver-gold ratio crisis, and the broader Key Date framework, see the Seated Liberty Dollar series history.