1855 Liberty Seated Dime. Arrows. MS-67 (NGC).Beautifully toned and virtually pristine, this is an exquisite example of a brief and popular design type. Both sides are ringed in halos of rich cobalt blue and brick red patina that yield to lighter golden-orange iridescence toward the centers. Otherwise softly frosted in finish, the reverse field reveals appreciable semi-prooflike reflectivity at direct lighting angles. The strike is razor sharp to full throughout, and the surfaces are so well preserved as to be virtually pristine. One of the more popular type coins in the entire Liberty Seated dime series of 1837 to 1891, the 1855 is actually the scarcest Philadelphia Mint issue of the brief Arrows, Stars Obverse design type. 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. The Mint dropped the arrows in 1856, although the revised weight standard remained in effect until 1873.
