1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dime (With Arrows)
Circulation strike struck at the New Orleans Mint · 2,200,000 made
- Mintage
- 2,200,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 1.24 g
- Diameter
- 15.5 mm
Original illustration. Tap to flip. Not a photograph of the actual coin.
Face value · Metal value · Small premium · Collector premium · Significant rarity. We use bands because prices change daily.
What is an 1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dime (With Arrows) worth?
In worn condition it trades for about its silver content, 0.0359 troy ounces. Uncirculated coins with full luster or attractive toning sell for more.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dime (With Arrows) rare?
- No. With 2.2 million made, it's one of the most common Seated Liberty Half Dimes.
- Is the 1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dime (With Arrows) silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.0359 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1853 Seated Liberty Half Dime?
- On the reverse, below the bow of the wreath or inside the wreath, depending on the year. Philadelphia coins have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is O, for New Orleans.
- Which New Orleans dates near 1853 are scarcer?
- The 1849-O at 140,000, the 1853-O at 160,000, the 1852-O at 260,000, plus 8 more. So the 1853-O is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dime (With Arrows) coins were made?
- 2,200,000.
What to check on your 1853-O
- Make sure the mint mark really is a O. A worn or filled mark can be misread. It's what separates your coin from the 1853 (135,000 made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Old coins pick up damage over a long life. Look for holes, bends, scratches or signs of cleaning before you judge the grade, because a damaged coin sells for a fraction of a problem-free one.
- Judge the grade under good light. LIBERTY on the shield wears first; a full LIBERTY marks Fine or better. These tiny coins are often bent, cleaned or holed.
Circulated examples are usually traded for their silver content. Pick out the best ones: original luster and attractive toning lift a coin above melt, while cleaned coins lose most of their collector value.
The story of the 1853-O
New Orleans ramped up hard in 1853: 2,200,000 coins, about 14 times the 1853 run. The next year it made 1.6 million (1854-O).
The other mints made far more that year: 1853 alone came to 13 million, roughly 6 for every 1853-O. That makes the 1853-O the scarcer 1853 coin, though still a common one.
Of the 21 Seated Liberty Half Dimes New Orleans struck between 1838 and 1860, none was made in bigger numbers. The scarcest New Orleans issue is the 1838-O at 70,000. Within the 1850s it's 17th smallest of 22, between the 1855 (1.8 million) and the 1858 (3.5 million).
It also marks a change of metal: 1853 is the first year of the Seated Liberty Half Dime in 90% silver, 10% copper, which lasted until 1873.
Arrows and the lighter half dime (1853 to 1855)
The Act of February 21, 1853 cut the weight of the half dime from 1.34 to 1.24 grams so that the coins would stay in circulation. Arrowheads beside the date marked the new standard. Unlike the quarter and half dollar, the half dime got no rays on the reverse. With its silver now worth less than its face value, the coin was no longer worth melting. Before the new dies were ready, Philadelphia struck 135,000 coins without arrows and New Orleans 160,000. The 1853-O without arrows is the rarer of the two and a key date of the series.
Then came the flood, with New Orleans striking arrows coins in every year of the period. Philadelphia struck 13,210,020 arrows half dimes in 1853, the largest mintage of any half dime ever made. New Orleans added 2,200,000. In 1854 the totals were 5,740,000 and 1,560,000. In 1855 they fell to 1,750,000 and 600,000. After years of shortage, there were finally enough small silver coins to go around.
Arrows half dimes are the easiest Seated half dimes to find from before the Civil War and a popular type coin. The arrows survive even heavy wear, so check both sides of the date. If your 1853 has no arrows, look at the reverse for an O mint mark near the bow, because that combination is the one collectors look for most.
Elsewhere in US coinage in 1853
Silver bullion was worth more than face value, so the Act of February 21, 1853 reduced the weight of the half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar. Arrows beside the date and rays on the reverse marked the lighter coins.
How to recognize it
Liberty sits on a rock with her right hand on a shield crossed by a scroll reading LIBERTY and her left hand holding a pole topped by a liberty cap. The 1837 and 1838-O half dimes show nothing else on the obverse but the date. From 1838 to 1859 thirteen stars ring the design and from 1860 they are replaced by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Drapery falls from her left elbow on coins from late 1840 on. Arrows beside the date mark the lighter coins of 1853 to 1855. Until 1859 the reverse shows HALF DIME inside a laurel wreath circled by UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. From 1860 a cereal wreath of corn, wheat, maple and oak leaves surrounds HALF DIME alone. Mint marks for New Orleans and San Francisco are on the reverse near the bow.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Half Dime (1837–1873) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853 |
| Mint | New Orleans Mint |
| Mint mark | "O" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 2,200,000 |
| Face value | 5¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 1.24 grams |
| Diameter | 15.5 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.0359 troy oz (1.116 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1853 Seated Liberty Half Dime issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1853 Seated Liberty Half Dime | 135,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0359 oz |
| 1853 Seated Liberty Half Dime (With Arrows) | 13,210,020 | Circulation strike | 0.0359 oz |
| 1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dime | 160,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0359 oz |
| 1853-O Seated Liberty Half Dime (With Arrows) | 2,200,000 | Circulation strike | 0.0359 oz |
Mintage: US Mint records as published in standard references, each figure checked against at least two independent sources. How we build these pages.