Item #: 401729-3A

A Unique Gold Rush-era discovery

from the SS Republic !

• Distinctive “Arrows & Rays” design makes these coins highly prized among collectors!



• One-year-only type coins



• Found 1,700 feet below the Atlantic after nearly 140 years



• Limited quantities remain available!

1853 was a landmark year for American silver coins as Congress ordered a slight reduction in their weight. Gazing upon this historic half dollar you'll note a pair of arrows bracketing the date while on the reverse, a beautiful halo of embossed "rays" backdrops the proud Federal eagle.

The change in weight was made reluctantly and only after months of fierce debate. Since 1849, immense quantities of gold mined in the California Gold Rush had flooded into the economy, effectively making gold cheaper at the expense of silver. This led to the melting of silver coins on a massive scale. Congress' solution was to lighten the half dime, dime, quarter dollar and half dollar beginning in 1853 and to distinguish the new coins with first "arrows and rays"; then with only arrows at the date. While the arrows motif was used the following two years (and again in 1873 to 1875) the rays ONLY appeared in 1853. Thus, "Arrows & Rays" Liberty Seated coins like these gleaming half dollars from the SS Republic Shipwreck are unique, and are in constant demand by type coin collectors.

Just under two thirds of the total number of 1853 "Arrows & Rays" Liberty Seated half dollars were struck at the Philadelphia mint. Ironically, these coins originated in Philadelphia and were on SS Republic destined in New Orleans to help rebuild the south after the Civil War. Odyssey has managed to recover a limited number of 1853-P "Arrows & Rays" Liberty Seated half dollars from the SS Republic Shipwreck, once thought lost forever nearly 1,700 feet below the surface of the cold Atlantic.

Historically significant and displaying incredible eye appeal, each of these 1853-P "Arrows & Rays" Liberty Seated half dollars has been carefully conserved by Numismatic Conservation Services, the country's leading coin conservation facility, and certified by Numismatic Guaranty Corporation (NGC) as having a "shipwreck effect." Only coins recovered in an archeologically sound manner and conserved through the least invasive means possible receive this unique designation. Unlike any other graded numismatic coins, these "shipwreck effect" silver half dollars bear official recognition of having been lying undisturbed in deep ocean waters since that fateful night nearly a century and a half ago when the SS Republic slipped beneath the waves.

Click the links below to learn more about:

SS Republic

Shipwreck Effect Grading Designation

STRETCH PAY!

Price: $1,495.00

Quantity: