1853 Seated Liberty Quarter

About This Coin

The 1853 Seated Liberty Quarter is a United States quarter from the Seated Liberty Quarters 1838-1891 series — 16th of 54 years in the series. In 1853, coins were struck at the Philadelphia and New Orleans Mints with a combined mintage of 47.0 million. This represents the highest annual mintage in the entire series, 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. Arrows at date and rays on reverse indicate weight reduction. The rays were removed after one year. Struck in 90% silver, 10% copper, 24.3 mm in diameter, with a reeded edge. Collectors have identified 4 known die varieties for this date, including cud, pre-cud. Across its variants, estimated values range from $80 to $12K depending on mint mark, grade, and strike type. A notable auction result reached $167K in PR67 grade at Heritage Auctions. Designed by Robert Ball Hughes/Christian Gobrecht.