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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Publius2, post: 6793079, member: 105571&quot;]I believe your coin is a counterfeit.&nbsp; It does not show the re-punching of the 5 that is part of every genuine 1853 No Arrows and which shows on even well-worn coins.&nbsp; Also, the marks at the 3 do not appear to be the same as the overdate re-punching on genuine coins.&nbsp; It looks more like someone modified an 8 to make it look like a 3 and clumsily at that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Also, a genuine 1853 No Arrows has a specified weight of 6.88 grams but all later quarters have a specified weight of 6.22 grams.&nbsp; It is much more likely that your coin started out at 6.22 grams and lost weight due to circulation and metal removal at the 8/3 down to 6.09 grams (a loss of 2.1%) than to have gone from 6.88 grams down to 6.09 grams ( a loss of 11.5%). </p><p><br /></p><p>In Jason Poe&#039;s excellent book The Art and Science of Grading Coins (highly recommended) on pages 132-134, he describes his own &quot;weight loss due to wear&quot; experiment and also quotes a 1902 Mint Director study.&nbsp; Both of those efforts led to a 4-5% loss of weight from uncirculated condition to well-worn condition.&nbsp; I think you would agree that your coin at 2.1% is much closer to that than 11.5%.</p><p><br /></p><p>The coin doesn&#039;t show signs of metal removal from removal of the arrows on the obverse nor the rays on the reverse.&nbsp; Along with the weight loss percentages mentioned above, the 1858 coin resumed the characteristics of the Variety 1 quarter but with the weight reduction of variety two.&nbsp; This means that an 1858 quarter is the same with regard to its diameter specification as the 1853 No Arrows but because the 1858 is lighter, the 1858 is thinner.&nbsp; You might check the thickness at the rim against some Variety 1 quarters-I can&#039;t find that specification right now.</p><p><br /></p><p>My references state the most common gauge for the Philadelphia mint used for all quarters from 1838 to 1860 was 113 reeds.&nbsp; If your coin is a modified 1858 it would show the same 113 reeds as a genuine 1853 No Arrows.&nbsp; But if your coin&#039;s reed count is different than 113, it would be another indication that your coin is counterfeit.</p><p><br /></p><p>All in all, I think it is far more likely that your coin is a counterfeit than not.&nbsp; I would grade your quarter around F-12.&nbsp; Greysheet lists that at $2200 so if genuine this is quite a valuable coin.&nbsp; Probably worth it to have a TPG take a look.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>My genuine wish for you is that it&#039;s genuine but I think the preponderance of evidence points otherwise.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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