1850 Seated Liberty Quarter

About This Coin

The 1850 Seated Liberty Quarter is a United States quarter from the Seated Liberty Quarters 1838-1891 series — 13th of 54 years in the series. In 1850, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints with a combined mintage of 586,803. This ranks 30th of 54 years by total mintage, above the series median of 500,580. The obverse features Liberty seated on a rock, holding a pole surmounted by a Phrygian liberty cap in her left hand and a shield inscribed LIBERTY in her right and the reverse displays a heraldic eagle with shield on breast, olive branch and arrows in talons, with a banner reading E PLURIBUS UNUM. Struck during the California Gold Rush era, when vast quantities of western gold transformed the American economy and led to new denominations. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, weighing 6.74 grams, 24.3 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Across its variants, estimated values range from $68 to $5.6K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $460K in PR68 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Robert Ball Hughes/Christian Gobrecht.