1851-O Seated Liberty Quarter
Circulation strike struck at the New Orleans Mint · 88,000 made
- Mintage
- 88,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.68 g
- Diameter
- 24.3 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1851-O Seated Liberty Quarter worth?
This is one of the dates collectors hunt for. A genuine 1851-O is valuable in any condition, even well worn. That's exactly why fakes and altered coins turn up so often.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1851-O Seated Liberty Quarter rare?
- Yes. Only 88,000 were made, 39th lowest of the 108 regular issues in the series.
- Is the 1851-O Seated Liberty Quarter silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1933 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1851 Seated Liberty Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is O, for New Orleans.
- Which New Orleans dates near 1851 are scarcer?
- None. Within five years either side, no New Orleans issue had a smaller mintage than the 1851-O.
- How many 1851-O Seated Liberty Quarter coins were made?
- 88,000.
What to check on your 1851-O
- Make sure the mint mark really is a O. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1851 (160,000 made).
- Check the date and mint mark under magnification for tooling or added letters. Scarce dates are the ones forgers alter.
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. The word LIBERTY on Liberty's shield is the classic test: fully visible in Fine, partly worn in Very Good, gone in Good.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more. Low-mintage dates attract altered and counterfeit coins. Check that the mint mark and date have not been tooled or added, or buy one already certified by PCGS or NGC.
The story of the 1851-O
New Orleans hadn't struck the Seated Liberty Quarter since 1849. When it came back in 1851, it made 88,000. In 1852 the figure was 96,000.
1851 came to 160,000, so neither mint's 1851 coin is much scarcer than the other. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1842 (88,000) and the 1870 (86,400).
Only the 1840-O, With Drapery and the 1891-O have a lower mintage among New Orleans's 19 Seated Liberty Quarters. Within the 1850s it's 4th smallest of 25, between the 1857-S (82,000) and the 1852-O (96,000).
Seated quarters before the 1853 weight cut (1838 to 1852)
Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty quarter replaced the Capped Bust late in 1838. The first coins have no drapery at Liberty's elbow. Extra folds of cloth were added in 1840, the same year the New Orleans Mint struck its first quarters in both styles. New Orleans then made quarters in most years of the 1840s, with the mint mark below the eagle.
After the California gold discoveries, silver rose in value against gold. Quarters became worth more as bullion than as money, so many were melted or shipped abroad. Philadelphia struck only 160,000 in 1851 and New Orleans just 88,000. The 1849-O, 1851-O and 1852-O are the scarce dates of these years. The 1842 small date exists only as a Philadelphia proof, while New Orleans struck both small and large dates that year.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1851
The three-cent silver piece was introduced in 1851 so people could buy the new three-cent postage stamps. It was the lightest coin the United States has ever issued.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with QUAR. DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Quarter (1838–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1851 |
| Mint | New Orleans Mint |
| Mint mark | "O" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 88,000 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.68 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1933 troy oz (6.012 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1851 Seated Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1851 Seated Liberty Quarter | 160,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1933 oz |
| 1851-O Seated Liberty Quarter | 88,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1933 oz |
Mintage: United States quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.