1873 No Arrows-Closed 3 Var 2 Proof

The 1873 No Arrows Closed 3 Var 2 proof is the secondary die marriage within the No Arrows Closed 3 proof sub-issue, struck before the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 raised dime weight from 2.49 grams to 2.50 grams and added arrows at the date. The catalog separates this variety entry from the primary No Arrows Closed 3 listing on the basis of a distinct obverse or reverse die pairing identified through modern die-marriage research rather than Mint records, which never tabulated the No Arrows pre-Act proofs by die marriage. Mint reports for the year recorded only the combined proof delivery, and the 2,378,500 figure displayed in the site's information card is the year's circulation-strike total and has no bearing on the proof issue. The coin sits among the lowest-population variants of any 1873 dime proof and is the issue most likely to be unfamiliar even to specialists in the series.

The coin continues the Legend No Motto subtype with "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" replacing the obverse stars, the wreath reverse unchanged, and no arrows flanking the date. The Closed 3 logotype shape, with the upper and lower knobs of the digit 3 nearly meeting, separates the No Arrows variants from the open-3 alternative; the Var 2 attribution requires comparison against published die-marriage references to confirm the specific obverse or reverse pairing rather than just the closed-3 layout. Weight holds at the pre-Act 2.49 grams on a 90 percent silver, 17.9-millimeter reeded planchet. Surface diagnostics follow the standard proof check: squared rims perpendicular to the field, watery die-polish lines visible under a 10x loupe (a jeweler's magnifier), complete denticles around both sides, and full devices on Liberty and the wreath. Authentication is essentially a two-step process: first confirm a genuine 1873 No Arrows Closed 3 proof, then confirm the specific die marriage through PCGS, the Professional Coin Grading Service, or NGC, the Numismatic Guaranty Company, attribution against a published reference plate.

Surviving certified examples are very thin, and the entry functions more as a die-marriage specialist's checklist piece than as a standard 1873 proof acquisition. Most type-set and year-set collectors will satisfy 1873 with one No Arrows Closed 3 proof and one With Arrows proof. The Regular rarity badge on this page follows site convention for all proof entries; the catalog tier sits in the prose. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1873 Coinage Act, and the series' proof program, see the Seated Liberty Dime series history.