Twists & Turns - Seated Arrows & Rays…. Fill In The Blanks Please

My favorite series is the seated series. The most visually pleasing coin of all for me is the arrows and rays of 1853. I know that the mint added the arrows and rays to indicate a weight reduction of the series in 1853. The rays were dropped but the arrows remained until 1855.

So the series continues until we reach 1873-1874 when arrows were once again added at the date. This time to indicate an increase in weight that remained a standard until we stopped making silver coins in 1965.

I am wondering if these fluctuations in weight were tied to fluctuations in the value of silver at the time? And if so, would the public have hoarded silver coins minted prior to 1853 much like we hoarded the silver coinage that ended in 1964?

I’m just wondering why it would be prudent to signal to the public that all your silver dated prior to 1853 has more value than face. Was a coin shortage created at the time due to the introduction of the arrows and rays?

 

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One of the reasons the 1853 no arrow half dime second mintage never hit the banks is they were already worth more in melt than face value....plus remember this was still a time that raw ,dust ,scrap silver ,or gold could be traded as easy as any coin....

 

The 1853 weight reduction was due to a relative increase in the price of silver to gold. The 1873 weight increase was done to get the silver coins up to even numbers in the Metric System. The weights would remain the same until the Coinage Act of 1965, which gave us the clad coinage.

During the 1870s, government officials were looking to create international coins that could used beyond international borders.

 

That makes sense. Thanks, John

 

But Randy I agree with you I love seated coinage. For many reasons...especially for mis placed dates. John Call texted me over the weekend as he scored a nice seated quarter with a mis placed date. In ms 62.