Seated Liberty Arrows & Rays Quarter Dollars 1853 Coin Guide
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Seated Liberty Arrows & Rays Quarter Dollars 1853
By the early 1850s, the whole country was infected with "gold
fever." In fact, the California Gold Rush had captured the attention
of the entire world. From 1849 onward, vast amounts of the precious metal
entered the channels of commerce from the new strikes in the West. With
this unprecedented increase in supply, the price of gold on world bullion
markets fell, relative to its value in silver. Conversely, silver became
worth more in terms of gold.
From 1834 to 1850, the intrinsic value of a silver dollar and a gold
dollar was almost equal. By 1851, however, the silver in four quarters was
worth $1.035 in gold and, by 1853, reached $1.06. Silver coins were being
withdrawn from circulation and were rapidly disappearing. Melting silver
in large quantities and reselling the bullion for up to 6% more in gold,
and then continually repeating the process, was a very profitable and
seemingly endless pursuit. It is estimated that in 1850 and 1851 alone,
over $25,000,000 in silver coins were exported.
As would happen several times in United States history, change for
retail businesses dried up. The only silver coins available were an
assortment of very worn Spanish coins and the tiny "fish scale"
three-cent pieces. These trimes had been specifically authorized in 1851
as the nation's first subsidiary silver coins, having a metal content
below their face value. The importance of this concept would only be
realized two years later.
Mint Director George Eckert approached Congress with a plan. Approve a
reduction in the weight of the silver coins to below where it would be
profitable to melt them. Even though this had already been done with the
trime, the idea of issuing all silver coins this way struck Congress as
"debasing the coinage" and would, in effect, place the nation on
a gold standard. Congress was strongly against abandoning bimetallism and
was not in a position to do so, as there was no way of telling when the
ever-increasing flow of gold would end and what the eventual relative
values of silver and gold would be.
A compromise option was adopted, which included slighty lowering the
amount of silver in the fractional coinage but keeping the old standard in
the silver dollar as a symbol of Congress' continued allegiance to
bimetallism. Authorizing a reduction in the weight of the quarter from the
former 103-1/8 grains to 96 grains, the Act was signed into law on
February 21, 1853 and became effective April 1. The legislation
accomplished its intended objective, for within a year the coin shortage
was over. For the first time in its history, the country had an ample
supply of small change.
The quarter then current was Christian Gobrecht's Seated Liberty design
as modified by Robert Ball Hughes. It had been in use since 1838,
replacing the Capped Bust motif, and was very familiar to the public. The
design depicted Liberty seated on a rock, surrounded by thirteen stars and
holding the union shield along with a pole topped by a Liberty cap. On the
reverse was the inscription UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and the denomination
QUAR. DOL., encircling an eagle clutching arrows and branches.
Officials felt the best way to make it easy for the public to
distinguish the new lower-weight coins was to make an obvious design
change. Christian Gobrecht's replacement as chief engraver, James Barton
Longacre, accomplished this by adding arrowheads on each side of the date
and a glory of rays emanating from the eagle on the reverse. This change
was particularly favored by the Treasury Department, whose main concern
was being able to easily distinguish the old coins from the new. It was
not immediately certain whether the new issues would be removed when gold
and silver prices stabilized.
Mint records show that on March 3, 1853, five proof sets were struck,
consisting of half dimes, dimes, quarters and half dollars with arrows.
These sets have long been dispersed, and the individual coins are rarely
seen.
The first business strikes were released on April 26. During the
remainder of the year, 15,254,200 pieces were struck at Philadelphia (no
mintmark) and 1,332,000 pieces at New Orleans (O). The mintmark can be
found on the reverse under the eagle.
Almost all of the record mintage of Arrows & Rays quarters went
into circulation. More coins were struck that year than all of the
previous years of the series combined, which probably accounts for why
relatively few were saved. They literally flooded out of the Mints.
Circulated Philadelphia specimens have always been common, and the variety
remained in circulation as late as the 1930s. Uncirculated examples, while
not rare, are becoming increasingly difficult to find, especially in gem
condition. Uncirculated New Orleans coins, however, along with the unusual
1853/4 Philadelphia Mint variety, are very rare.
Although there are a few collectors pursuing the entire Seated Liberty
quarter series by date and mint, and some seek only New Orleans issues,
demand for the Arrows & Rays quarter comes primarily from type
collectors. Perhaps the relative difficulty of finding gem specimens today
is because the available supply of nicer coins is already tucked away in
type sets.
When grading Arrows and Rays quarters, as with the other Seated Liberty
quarters, the high points on the obverse are Liberty's knee, hair and
breast. On the reverse, the areas to first show wear are the eagle's neck,
claws and the tops of its wings.
Early in 1854, the new Mint Director, James Ross Snowden, was informed
that impressing the rays into the reverse dies required an extra operation
and therefore more time and cost. Ordering the removal of the rays from
subsequent coinage, Snowden effectively defined the Arrows and Rays
quarter as a one-year-only type, to be followed by the quarters of 1854-55
which included just the arrowheads. In 1856, it was felt that even this
feature was no longer needed, so the arrows were removed.
Other changes to the Seated Liberty design included the addition of the
motto IN GOD WE TRUST in 1866 and the use of arrows again in 1873-74 at
the sides of the date, but this time to denote an increase in weight,
rather than a decrease. The Seated Liberty quarter, in its many
variations, would span over a half century before being replaced by the
Barber quarter in 1892.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Diameter: 24.3 mm Weight: 6.22 grams Composition: .900 silver, .100
copper Edge: Reeded Net Weight: .1800 ounce pure silver
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Bowers, Q. David, United States Dimes,
Quarters and Half Dollars, Bowers and Merena Galleries, Wolfeboro, NH,
1986. Breen, Walter, Walter Breen's Complete Encyclopedia of U.S. and
Colonial Coins, F.C.I./Doubleday, New York, 1988. Briggs, Larry, The
Comprehensive Encyclopedia of United States Liberty Seated Quarters, Larry
Briggs Rare Coins, Lima, OH, 1991. Yeoman, R.S., A Guidebook of United
States Coins, 47th Edition, Western Publishing Co., Racine, WI, 1993. The
Gobrecht Journal, Collective Volumes Numbers One and Three, Liberty Seated
Collectors Club, Kettering, OH, 1980 & 1990.
Coin Information Provided Courtesy NGC.
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