1854 Liberty Seated Dime. Arrows. MS-67 (PCGS).Beautiful satin surfaces are brilliant apart from blushes of olive-blue and sandy-gold iridescence around much of the obverse periphery. Both sides are fully struck and so carefully preserved as to border on pristine. One of the more popular type coins in the Liberty Seated dime series of 1837 to 1891, the 1854 is the most readily obtainable issue of the brief Arrows, Stars Obverse design type after only the 1853. This is one of the two finest examples known to PCGS, and its offering in this sale represents a fleeting opportunity for the advanced type collector. As with the half dime, quarter and half dollar whose designs were also modified in similar fashion that year, the arrows were introduced to the obverse of the dime in 1853 to signify a weight reduction, in this case from 2.67 grams to 2.49 grams. The weight standard was changed through the Act of February 21, 1853 to discourage hoarding of silver coins in the Eastern states that followed within a couple of years of the discovery of gold in California and the onset of the Gold Rush. By reducing the coins weight and making them subsidiary, the dime was once again worth more in face value than as bullion and was able to circulate freely. Coinage continued at the new weight standard through early 1873, although the arrows were dropped from the design after 1855.PCGS Population: just 2; 0 finer.
