1862 Proof

The 1862 Seated Liberty Dollar Proof is struck at the Philadelphia Mint with a documented mintage of 550 pieces per the Mint Director annual report. The 550-piece mintage steps down from the 1,000-piece 1861 figure as Civil War-era collector subscription demand softened during the first full wartime year. The 1862 Proof carries the standard Christian Gobrecht obverse and the No Motto reverse that defines the early series through 1865. The live page mintage of 12,090 reflects the circulation-strike figure rather than the proof mintage.

Authentication of an 1862 Seated Dollar Proof requires careful examination of strike quality, mirrored field character, and surface preservation under five to ten power magnification. The 1862 Proof shows fully struck Liberty drapery, sharp eagle feather definition, and deep mirror fields that distinguish formal proof production from business-strike prooflike examples. PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, and NGC apply standard proof grading conventions across the Seated Dollar proof sequence. Cameo and Deep Cameo designations are uncommon for 1862 Proof examples.

The 1862 Seated Dollar Proof is a regular-classification proof entry on this site under the standard catalog convention for Seated Dollar proofs, with the 550-piece mintage and standard proof status reflected in the prose rather than the badge tier. The 1862 Proof pairs with the broader 1859 through 1865 No Motto P-mint proof sequence as the matched documented-mintage proof era. Auction records for confirmed 1862 Proof examples cluster in four-figure prices for Proof-63 and Proof-64 grades, with Cameo premiums applying at higher grade levels. Modern Seated Dollar proof collecting interest concentrates on the matched type sets (No Motto 1840-1865 vs With Motto 1866-1873) and the restrike issues that document mid-century Mint production for collector subscription, with specialist demand supporting strong premiums above raw bullion at every grade. For the Civil War-era Seated Dollar proof production context, see the Seated Liberty Dollar series history.