1852-O Gold $1 (1852-O Gold Dollar) NGC MS62. This mint state, Southern branch mint 1852-O Gold Dollar shimmers with bright mint luster in its protected areas. The coin shows a strong peripheral strike as seen in full details on the centers of the stars and the leaves of the wreath. The centers are weak, which is typical for the date and mint. The surfaces are original, clean, and, for the grade, free of distractions worthy of individual mention. Of added interest is a die crack that runs from the top of the portrait of Liberty to the rim.

Prior to gold dollars being issued in 1849, private minters supplied miners with a means of converting their oar and gold dust into currency. However, since the coins produced were variable in fineness and often counterfeited, a bill was introduced in 1844 for the government to make gold dollars. Mint Director Robert Patterson was opposed. He lied when he claimed that there was no public demand for these coins. The truth is that Patterson did not want James Longacre making new dies because it might interfere with his friend Franklin Peales medal-making business that was being run out of the Mint. Patterson hoped that Longacres job would be abolished if new coinage was not needed. Despite Pattersons objections, Longacre prevailed and made the new dies. The gold dollar became an alternative to the silver dollar.

James B. Longacre designed three gold dollar types. The first, the present coin, was the Liberty Head that was minted from 1849 to 1854. The obverse shows Liberty facing left. On her head is a coronet inscribed LIBERTY in incuse letters. Her hair is combed back into a hair knot. Loose hair encircles her head beneath the coronet, and several curls hang down her neck. Encircling her head are thirteen six-pointed stars. Dentils are near the edge on both sides of the coin. The reverse has an open wreath of berries tied in a bow at the bottom. A large numeral one is near the top. The word DOLLAR is underneath, and the date is below the denomination. The inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is in an arc around the wreath. The mintmark is below the knot of the bow.