1853 25C Arrows and Rays PR64 PCGS. CAC....

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1853 Arrows and Rays Quarter, PR64 CAC
Rare Early Seated Proof Issue
One-Year Type

1853 25C Arrows and Rays PR64 PCGS. CAC. 1853 proofs of any denomination have proven to be among the most desirable Seated Liberty issues, and it is especially true for the 1853 Arrows and Rays quarters with their status as a one-year type. Throughout numismatic history, the debate ebbs and flows about the very existence of 1853 proofs.
     Walter Breen recorded a proof mintage of five coins for each of the minor 1853 silver issues (half dime through the half dollar), although it is unclear where he obtained these figures. U.S. Mint records are of no help, since the Mint kept no records on the number of proof coins struck, sold, distributed, or melted between 1837 and 1857. One can only approximate the number of proofs based on population data and auction appearances. PCGS currently estimates the number of proofs at seven to eight pieces known.
     There is no question that only a few 1853 Arrows and Rays quarters are decidedly "like proofs," and fewer still are certified as proofs by either service. The issue is essentially unknown with prooflike surfaces as regular circulation strikes. Almost inevitably, they are frosted with strong cartwheel luster when in high Uncirculated grades.
     David Akers published a brief proof Census in the Pittman catalog, which Heritage has studied and updated throughout the years since that sale. We believe that either eight or nine certified proofs exist, depending on whether or not the current coin is a previously recorded example.
     The 1991 Briggs reference cited die marriage 10-I as the sole proof dies (in accordance with the Breen proof encyclopedia), but clearly there are at least three die marriages used among the current list of confirmed proofs. The Mint prepared well over 100 sets of dies for the 1853 quarters, with an unknown number of die marriages for the 15 million-piece mintage. In 1853, proofs were "made to order" and sold at face value to a few privileged collectors and dealers. It appears that different dies were used over time to satisfy proof requests.
     This near-Gem proof is brilliant and well-struck. The mirrored fields show a few light lines and tiny marks. As with other examples of the issue, Mint anomalies exist that normally are avoided on proofs (for example, the Briggs 10-I proof die shows recutting of 53 in the date and at the bottom of the right arrow flanking those digits). The current coin has die clashing beneath Liberty's arm and near the pole hand, plus an unusual curlicue die scratch at the crook of the elbow and in the drapery below.
     Housed in a previous generation blue label holder with barcode on the back and CAC endorsed, the coin may have been struck from the same obverse die as the Norweb specimen, which has not appeared at auction since the Norweb sale in 1988. Comparison of the current coin to the Norweb plates is inconclusive. This attractive, silver-white example is tied for fourth among all certified proof Arrows and Rays halves. PCGS Population: 2 in 64, 0 finer (3/26). CAC: 2 in 64, 0 finer (3/26).
Ex: The Jim O'Neal Collection of U.S. Type, Part V/FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2018), lot 4830. (Registry values: P5)
Selections from The Black Cat Collection, Part II.

Coin Index Numbers: (NGC ID# 23WU, PCGS# 5548, Greysheet# 5267)

Metal: 90% Silver, 10% Copper
Weight: 6.22 grams
ASW: 0.20oz
Mintage: 5

View all of [Selections from The Black Cat Collection, Part II ]

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