1873 Arrows Seated Liberty Half Dollar

Philadelphia struck 1,815,700 half dollars with arrowheads flanking the date in 1873, signaling the weight change mandated by the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873. The arrows served the same purpose they had twenty years earlier in 1853: alerting the public that the coin's silver content had changed. In this case, the weight was slightly increased rather than decreased.

The Coinage Act of 1873, also called the "Crime of '73" by silver advocates, had consequences far beyond the half dollar's weight adjustment. The Act demonetized the silver dollar and moved the nation toward a de facto gold standard, setting off a political battle between gold and silver interests that would rage for the next two decades. The half dollar survived the Act with its legal tender status intact, and the Arrows subtype lasted only two years (1873-1874) before the arrowheads were removed. The 1873 Arrows is the type coin for this brief subtype and is available in circulated grades at standard pricing.