misaligned dies braided cents are a subject dear to my heart. it was my fathers collecting passion. they show up pretty consistently in this era. 1853 is the most frequent (i
inherited more than 200 MAD 1853s from my dad). they are known across a every die pair for 1853 so it seems the issue was significant. 1852, while less common, appears to experience the same issues.
here are some bullet point notes from a manuscript my father was working on before he passed. forgive the rough nature. its not finished and I'm not ready to start finishing it today.
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Chapter 3
What Happened at the Philadelphia Mint in 1853?
Two terms, as stated by Q. David Bowers, define operations at the Philadelphia Mint in 1853, "hasty preparation and sloppy strikes."
Many coiners were switched to silver coin production (these were legal tender, not like large cents, which were not made legal tender until 1964.
Q. David Bowers also states that many 1853 Liberty
Seated quarters were struck in haste, with a poor quality of striking as a result.
"Struck in haste" is a good clue for us to follow when looking at what happened at the Mint in 1853.
Q. David Bowers also states that many 1853 Liberty
Seated quarters were struck in haste, with a poor quality of striking as a result.
"Struck in haste" is a good clue for us to follow when looking at what happened at the Mint in 1853.
Both metals were impacted by world events in the mid nineteenth century.
In 1848, gold was discovered in California.
In 1850, gold was discovered in Australia.
In 1852, gold was discovered in New Zealand.
In the early 1850s, gold was discovered in Siberia.
The sudden appearance of all this gold sent the monetary system of the United States into turmoil. The value of gold went down and the value of silver went up.
By 1851, the value of silver in our coins was worth more than face value.
Bankers and brokers valued $100 face value of silver coins at $103.40.
This was a big problem for our economy. Almost all silver coins were hoarded by early 1852.
Commerce slowed down.
How could you pay for anything?
Paper money was unpopular.
Paper was often worthless or discounted.
Barter was too cumbersome.
What could be used to keep commerce moving?
Congress was forced to act. The Mint Act of February 21, 1853 reduced the silver content of all coins except the dollar, which was used primarily in foreign trade and was traded at intrinsic value.
All minor silver coins were debased (except the trime, which was already debased) by this Act and had less silver than their value.
This led to a massive re-coinage of silver coins.
By April 1853, silver coins of the new standard were beginning to appear in circulation.
This year had a huge increase in the mintage of subsidiary silver coins.
Silver mintages (
half dime to Half Dollar) at the Philadelphia Mint
1851 - 24,984,136 coins
1852 - 32,611,849 coins
1853 - 69,819,805 coins
1854 - 33,097,716 coins
1855 - 14,937,659 coins
The April 1853 issue of The Banker' Magazine stated: "The Mint will be abundantly supplied with silver for the creation of small coins complimented by the late act of Congress. The Western banks have cut back their silver. A shipment of $400,000 was made by the several Louisville banks last week to the Philadelphia Mint. There are large sums in dollars and half dollars, held by the banks of Indiana, Tennessee and other states, which will now be brought forward for recoinage."
After February 15, 1853, the New Orleans Mint recalled the older coinage. In the fall of 1853, the New Orleans Mint sent more than $1,000,000 face value in minor silver coins to the Mint in Philadelphia for recoinage.
The Mint needed more machinery.
The Mint had to hire more employees.
Many of these new employees needed to be trained and, even trained, were less efficient.
To top it all off, experienced employees were assigned to the striking of silver. Newer and less experienced employees struck coppers.
Obviously, precedence was given to striking silver. The mint, in effect, had to replace all those silver coins that had been hoarded, exported, or melted.
Coins were struck "in haste" in every denomination.
To discover why 1853 quarters (and other 1853s), were struck in haste, we need to look beyond the world of our treasured large cents.
By 1850, the monetary systems in most nations were based on either silver or gold, but not both.
The United States was an exception, as our money was valued in both, at a 16:1 ratio (One ounce of gold had the same value as 16 ounces of silver).
I collect low grade large cents. I currently have >230 Sheldon varieties and >235 middle date Newcomb varieties.
Posted 01/27/2023 6:02 pm
need better pics.
