diff --git a/include/mapnik/value_hash.hpp b/include/mapnik/value_hash.hpp
index e0aec264e..da2621269 100644
--- a/include/mapnik/value_hash.hpp
+++ b/include/mapnik/value_hash.hpp
@@ -52,7 +52,6 @@ struct value_hasher
 
     std::size_t operator() (value_unicode_string const& val) const
     {
-        assert(val.hashCode() > 0);
         return static_cast<std::size_t>(val.hashCode());
     }