1852-O 25C XF40 Certification #19763516, PCGS #5420

Owner's Comments

XF40 1-A and rare in grade, R6. The 1852-o has one of the lowest mintage's for any quarter dollar produced in the 1850's. At 96,000 you'd think there would be sufficient survivors but this does not seem to be the case. It is surmised that most of the year's mintage remained undistributed in a New Orleans vault until February 1853 when the official coin weight changed from 6.88 to 6.22 grams. Mint officials melted the heavier coins that were still on hand. This would have included many 1852-o and 1851-o quarters. This helps explain their current day survival rate. PCGS Pop: 8 in 40. No auction history.

Expert Comments

Ron Guth

The 1852-O Quarter Dollar is a tough date that is incredibly rare in Mint State.  In fact, the majority of certified examples grade either XF40 or less.  PCGS has certified two Mint State examples, the finest of which is a single PCGS MS63.  This date shows the typical strike weakness of a New Orlean product, but some examples are weak at the top of the obverse and the bottom of the reverse, indicating that the dies may have been out of parallel when some coins were struck.  This anomaly can be seen on the finest example (illustrated above).

The record price for this date at auction is $126,500, realized in 2007 in a Heritage auction by a PCGS MS63.

PCGS #
5420
Designer
Robert Ball Hughes/Christian Gobrecht
Edge
Reeded
Diameter
24.30 millimeters
Weight
6.74 grams
Mintage
96000
Metal
90% Silver, 10% Copper
Pop Higher
14
Pop Lower
87
Region
The United States of America
Price Guide
PCGS Population
Auctions - PCGS Graded
Auctions - NGC Graded

Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More

Grades
65 or Better 400 R-6.2 17 / 49 TIE 34 / 114 TIE
All Grades 4 R-9.8 2 / 49 TIE 4 / 114 TIE
60 or Better 0 R-10.1 1 / 49 1 / 114
65 or Better 400
All Grades 4
60 or Better 0
65 or Better R-6.2
All Grades R-9.8
60 or Better R-10.1
65 or Better 17 / 49 TIE
All Grades 2 / 49 TIE
60 or Better 1 / 49
65 or Better 34 / 114 TIE
All Grades 4 / 114 TIE
60 or Better 1 / 114

Condition Census Learn More

Pos Grade Thumbnail Pedigree and History
1 MS63 PCGS grade

Frog Run Farm Collection, Part II - American Numismatic Rarities 1/2006:346, $21,850 - Heritage 11/2007:540, $126,500 - Stack's 7/2009:472, $32,000

2 MS62 PCGS grade

Superior “Auction '88” 7/1988:119 - Heritage 9/2008:1519 - Heritage 4/2010:2082 - Eugene H. Gardner Collection - Heritage 5/2015:98341, $21,150

2 MS62 estimated grade

Heritage 11/2016:5226, $17,625

4 AU58 estimated grade
4 AU58 estimated grade
#1 MS63 PCGS grade

Frog Run Farm Collection, Part II - American Numismatic Rarities 1/2006:346, $21,850 - Heritage 11/2007:540, $126,500 - Stack's 7/2009:472, $32,000

#2 MS62 PCGS grade

Superior “Auction '88” 7/1988:119 - Heritage 9/2008:1519 - Heritage 4/2010:2082 - Eugene H. Gardner Collection - Heritage 5/2015:98341, $21,150

#2 MS62 estimated grade

Heritage 11/2016:5226, $17,625

#4 AU58 estimated grade
#4 AU58 estimated grade