1853-O 50C No Arrows (Regular Strike)
Series: Liberty Seated Half Dollars 1839-1891
PCGS VF35
mage courtesy of Bowers and Merena Auctions
PCGS VF35
PCGS F12
- PCGS #:
- 6270
- Designer:
- Thomas Sully/Christian Gobrecht
- Edge:
- Reeded
- Diameter:
- 30.00 millimeters
- Weight:
- 13.36 grams
- Mintage:
- 4
- Mint:
- New Orleans
- Metal:
- 90% Silver, 10% Copper
- Auction Record:
- $517,000 • VF35 • 08-01-2017 • Stack's Bowers
Major Varieties
- 1853-O 50C No Arrows
Rarity and Survival Estimates Learn More
| Survival Estimate | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 4 |
| 60 or Better | |
| 65 or Better | |
| Numismatic Rarity | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | R-9.8 |
| 60 or Better | R-10.1 |
| 65 or Better | R-10.1 |
| Relative Rarity By Type All Specs in this Type | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 1 / 66 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 1 / 66 |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 66 |
| Relative Rarity By Series All Specs in this Series | |
|---|---|
| All Grades | 1 / 126 TIE |
| 60 or Better | 1 / 126 |
| 65 or Better | 1 / 126 |
Condition Census What Is This?
|
#1 VF35 PCGS grade
201 grains. J.W. Haseltine - J. Colvin Randall - William Elliot Woodward, 06/1885:421 - H.P. Newlin - T. Harrison Garrett - John Work Garrett - B&R 11/1979:339 - David Queller - Stack's 10/2002:530, $161,000 - Jim Gray - Bowers & Merena 7/2004:2332, $310,500 - Stack's 10/2006:1160, $368,000 |
#2 VG8 PCGS grade
Howell Family Estate, discovered in 2012 in a small group of silver coins and nearly sold for $15 - Stack's/Bowers 8/2012:11447, $218,500 - offered by Rich Uhrich Coins on their website in 12/2014 for $265,000 - Heritage 8/2015:4060 $199,720 |
|
#3 G6 PCGS grade
199.6 grains. S.H. & H. Chapman “Colin E. King” 4/1892:854 - Colonel E.H.R. Green Collection - Stack’s “Anderson-Dupont” 11/1954:2143 - Stack’s “Empire Sale 11/1957:1394 - Hollinbeck Coin Company (Art and Paul Kagin) - Stack’s “R.E. Cox, Jr.” 4/1962:1928 - Stack’s “E. Yale Clarke 10/1975:289 - Julian Leidman - Roy Ash - Leon Goodman - Julian Leidman - Jules Reiver - Julian Leidman - Jonathan Kern - Charles Barasch - New England Collection - Charles Barasch - Julian Leidman - Kenneth Goldman - South Florida Rare Coins - Stack's/Bowers 10/2014:10026, $246,750 |
|
#4 VG estimated grade
202.3 grains. Exhibited by H.O. Granberg at the 1911 American Numismatic Association convention - William H. Woodin - Waldo Newcomer - Colonel E.H.R. Green (via B. Max Mehl) - Charles M. Williams - Abe Kosoff's sale of the Adolphe Menjou collection, 1950:1084 - Louis Eliasberg - Bowers & Merena, Inc.'s sale of the Eliasberg collection, Lot 1955, $154,000 |
Four examples are now known of this great rarity, thanks to the discovery in early 2012 of a new example (certified VG8 by PCGS and illustrated above. All four 1853-O No Arrows Half Dollars are from the same die pair. Each is below the old standard weight of 208.25 grains, but well above the new standard of 192 grains adopted on February 21, 1853. The wear on each of the known examples accounts for the weight discrepancy.
This was the second-to-the-last coin that Louis Eliasberg needed to complete his collection of United States coins.
In a survey of the members of the Liberty Seated Collectors Club, published in the March 2008 issue of the Gobrecht Journal, the 1853-O No Arrows Half Dollar was ranked first among the Ten Greatest New Orleans Seated Coins: "...This issue was placed in the top spot by 55% of the respondents and was listed among the top ten coins by 86% of the respondents."
Sources and/or recommended reading: "Lost In Transition" by Paul Gilkes, COIN WORLD, July 24, 2000, p. 80.
"The Ten Greatest New Orleans Seated Coins" by John McCloskey, THE GOBRECHT JOURNAL, March 2008, pp. 53-57.