1873 Liberty Seated Half Dollar. No Arrows. WB-6. Rarity-5. Open 3. EF-40 (PCGS).Mottled russet highlights adorn otherwise pewter and steel-gray surfaces. A momentous year for half dollar production at the Philadelphia Mint, 1873 witnessed the production of three different varieties. The No Arrows, Close 3 pieces were struck first, to the extent of 587,000 circulation strikes and 600 Proofs. Sometime prior to April 1, but presumably also before February 12, the date logotype was changed to the Open 3 style in response to a complaint from Chief Coiner A. Loudon Snowden that the close-style 3 was easily mistaken for an 8. The Mint struck only 214,000 circulation strikes of the No Arrows, Open 3 variety before the Act of February 12, 1873 increased the weight of the half dollar from 12.44 grams to 12.50 grams. To denote this change, arrows were added to the obverse design, as had been done earlier in 1853, 1854 and 1855, when the weight was also changed. The Arrows coinage accounted for the majority of 1873 half dollars struck at the Philadelphia Mint: 1,815,200 circulation strikes and 500 Proofs.<p>Produced for only a limited time, it is likely that most 1873 Open 3 half dollars never even left the Mint, the coins instead being melted to provide bullion for the newly mandated Arrows coinage. (Walter Breen, 1988, states that these and presumably other half dollars struck to the outdated 12.44-gram standard were destroyed after July 10, 1873.) Indeed, the 1873 Open 3 is the rarest circulation strike half dollar of the year struck in the Philadelphia Mint, and it is also a prime rarity in the Liberty Seated series. Noted authorities on this series Randy Wiley and Bill Bugert (<em>The Complete Guide to Liberty Seated Half Dollars</em>, 1993) assign this issue an overall rating of Rarity-5+, with EF/AU coins rated even higher at an impressive Rarity-7+. Offered here is a pleasing Extremely Fine survivor that represents a significant find for the specialist.PCGS# 6337. NGC ID: 24KB.From the Collection of James Allaire Millholland, 1842-1911.
