What Happened To The 1873-S No Arrows Half Dollars?

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

Author	Replies: 3 / Views: 1,838
mdh157 Pillar of the Community United States 952 Posts	Posted 04/16/2011 6:14 pm Does anyone know anything about this? The RedBook has always said that 5,000 were minted but 'no specimens known to survive.' I have never been able to find out if there is any more to it, like were they all taken back to the mint and melted or were they released and as of now none of them have been accounted for? Report this Post to the Staff

SsuperDdave Moderator United States 23522 Posts	Posted 04/16/2011 8:24 pm In a phrase, it was due to the Coinage Act of 1873. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinage_Act_of_1873 That Act changed the legal amount of silver deemed worth "one Dollar," thereby affecting the smaller coinage as well. The silver Half had to be increased in weight, indicated by the arrows on the obverse. Remember, back then, things like "inflation" pretty much didn't exist; the "value" of stuff changed very, very slowly by comparison to the world in which we live. As did prices. All of the 1873-S "no arrow" halves were too light to be worth 50 cents, and were (supposedly) melted before release. It appears the other mints managed to get some into circulation; keep in mind, 5000 coins was a matter of one day's production at a mint. Report this Post to the Staff
Conder101 Bedrock of the Community United States 17884 Posts	Posted 04/18/2011 11:09 am After the Act of Feb 1873 passed the coins could no longer be issued and were presumably melted. I know Harry Bosell found evidence of at least one 1873-S standard dollar was shipped to Philadelphia for the annual assay. I don't know if he found similar evidence for the half dollar or not. I suspect that he did Report this Post to the Staff
mdh157 Pillar of the Community United States 952 Posts	Posted 04/18/2011 3:30 pm years of wondering finally answered.......thank you Dave and Conder So if there was one sent for the annual assay then what happened to it? Report this Post to the Staff
	Replies: 3 / Views: 1,838

To participate in the forum you must log in or register.

All Forums Category: US Coins and Currency Forums Forum: US Classic and Colonial Coins

The First Dollar, your premier source for bullion and rare coins. See our bullion list on the site and the coin inventory on ebay.

Silver Gold Bull US is the United States leading bullion dealer. We deliver gold coins, gold bars, silver coins, silver bars and precious metals to your door. Order today!

View Last 100 New Topics

View Last 100 Active Topics

Disclaimer: While a tremendous amount of effort goes into ensuring the accuracy of the information contained in this site, Coin Community assumes no liability for errors. Copyright 2005 - 2026 Coin Community Family- all rights reserved worldwide. Use of any images or content on this website without prior written permission of Coin Community or the original lender is strictly prohibited.
Contact Us | Advertise Here | Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

Coin Community Forum

It took 0.23 seconds to rattle this change.