1853-O Seated Liberty Quarter, Arrows and Rays
Circulation strike struck at the New Orleans Mint · 1,332,000 made
- Mintage
- 1,332,000
- Metal
- 90% silver, 10% copper
- Weight
- 6.22 g
- Diameter
- 24.3 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 Quarter, Arrows and Rays worth?
Collectors pay a real premium for this date, worn or not, because far fewer were made than usual. Uncirculated pieces go much higher.
What would make yours worth more:
- Uncirculated condition with full original luster
- A die variety or minting error
- Certification by PCGS or NGC, which buyers expect for scarce dates
For market prices, check recent sold results for certified coins in the same grade.
Quick answers
- Is the 1853-O Seated Liberty Quarter, Arrows and Rays rare?
- Somewhat. 1,332,000 were made, fewer than most dates, so collectors treat it as a semi-key.
- Is the 1853-O Seated Liberty Quarter, Arrows and Rays silver?
- Yes. It's 90% silver, 10% copper and holds 0.1800 troy ounces of pure silver.
- Where is the mint mark on an 1853 Seated Liberty Quarter?
- On the reverse, below the eagle. Philadelphia quarters have no mint mark. On this coin the mark is O, for New Orleans.
- Which New Orleans dates near 1853 are scarcer?
- The 1851-O at 88,000, the 1852-O at 96,000, the 1855-O at 176,000, plus 4 more. So the 1853-O is one of the easier dates of its stretch.
- How many 1853-O Seated Liberty Quarter, Arrows and Rays coins were made?
- 1,332,000.
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 (44,200 made).
- Don't clean it. Cleaning leaves fine scratches and an unnatural shine that collectors avoid.
- Proof or circulation strike? A proof has mirror-like fields and frosted design details and was sold to collectors, not released in change. The 1853 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof, Arrows and Rays (5 made) is the one to compare with.
- 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. The word LIBERTY on Liberty's shield is the classic test: fully visible in Fine, partly worn in Very Good, gone in Good.
Never clean it. Collectors pay strong premiums for original surfaces and natural toning on a date like this. A cleaned coin can lose half its value or more.
The story of the 1853-O
New Orleans ramped up hard in 1853: 1,332,000 coins, about 14 times the 1852 run. The next year it made 1.5 million (1854-O).
The other mints made far more that year: 1853 alone came to 15 million, roughly 11 for every 1853-O. If you're checking a pile of 1853 coins, the O is the one to look for. In the whole series, its mintage sits closest to the 1859 (1,343,200) and the 1873, With Arrows (1,271,160).
New Orleans struck the Seated Liberty Quarter in 19 issues between 1840 and 1891. By mintage this one lands in the more common half, while the key for that mint is the 1840-O, With Drapery (43,000). Within the 1850s it's 17th smallest of 25, between the 1857-O (1.2 million) and the 1859 (1.3 million).
It also marks a change of metal: 1853 is the first year of the Seated Liberty Quarter in 90% silver, 10% copper, which lasted until 1873.
Arrows mark the lighter quarter (1853 to 1855)
The Act of February 21, 1853 cut the quarter from 6.68 to 6.22 grams so that silver coins would stay in circulation. Arrows were placed beside the date and rays around the eagle to show the change. Philadelphia struck more than 15.2 million in 1853, by far its largest quarter mintage up to that point. An 1853/4 variety shows traces of an earlier digit.
A small run of 1853 quarters was struck at the old weight without arrows, all from a repunched date die, with 44,200 reported. The rays were dropped after one year, though arrows stayed through 1855. San Francisco struck its first quarters in 1855, a mintage of 396,400. Arrow quarters survive in large numbers, many worn but with the arrows still visible, which makes them a popular choice for a type set.
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 holding a shield inscribed LIBERTY and a pole topped with a liberty cap, with 13 stars around her and the date below. The reverse shows an eagle with QUAR. DOL. below. Arrows beside the date (1853 to 1855 and 1873 to 1874) and rays around the eagle (1853) mark weight changes. The motto IN GOD WE TRUST appears above the eagle from 1866.
Mintage chart
Specifications
| Series | Seated Liberty Quarter (1838–1891) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1853 |
| Mint | New Orleans Mint |
| Mint mark | "O" |
| Strike type | Circulation strike |
| Mintage | 1,332,000 |
| Face value | 25¢ |
| Composition | 90% silver, 10% copper |
| Weight | 6.22 grams |
| Diameter | 24.3 mm |
| Edge | Reeded |
| Silver content | 0.1800 troy oz (5.598 g) |
| Designer | Christian Gobrecht |
Other 1853 Seated Liberty Quarter issues
| Coin | Mintage | Type | Silver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1853 Seated Liberty Quarter, No Arrows | 44,200 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
| 1853 Seated Liberty Quarter, Arrows and Rays (3 over 4 overdate errors are known) | 15,210,020 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
| 1853 Seated Liberty Quarter Proof, Arrows and Rays | 5 | Proof | 0.1800 oz |
| 1853-O Seated Liberty Quarter, Arrows and Rays | 1,332,000 | Circulation strike | 0.1800 oz |
Mintage: United States quarter mintage figures (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0), compiled from US Mint records and the Guide Book of United States Coins. How we build these pages.