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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;johnmilton, post: 7301899, member: 101855&quot;]The mintage for the 1853 Arrows and Rays Half Dollar was a little over 3.5 million at the Philadelphia Mint and a bit over 1.3 at New Orleans. Those mintages were little above average for the period, but it seems that very few people saved these coins at the time. Therefore, the high grade ones are scarce and expensive. The fact that it&#039;s a one year type also drives up the price.</p><p><br /></p><p>The mint system did face a challenge at the time. The gold strike in California had upset the price ratio between gold and silver. Therefore all of the silver coins that the mint had issued, previous to the 1853 silver coin weight reduction, melted for slightly more than their face value. The Arrows and Rays or just the Arrows indicated that the coin weighed less and therefore was not worth melting.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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