1873-CC Arrows

The 1873-CC Arrows is the fourth and final Carson City Seated Liberty Quarter, struck after the Coinage Act of February 12, 1873 raised the legal weight standard and the Mint added arrows beside the date to mark the new 6.25 gram planchet. The reported mintage of 4,000 pieces matches the 1873-CC No Arrows figure but represents a separate production run on the heavier planchet. The coin shares the standard With Motto design through the IN GOD WE TRUST banner above Christian Gobrecht's seated figure of Liberty and the heraldic eagle reverse, with the addition of arrowheads on either side of the date and the CC mintmark below the eagle on the reverse. Production followed the change to the 1873 weight standard and continued through 1874 before the arrows were removed entirely in 1875.

Survival is sharply better than the 1873-CC No Arrows but still extreme in absolute terms. The 1873-CC Arrows attribution carries roughly fifty to one hundred confirmed examples across all grades depending on which census is used, with most pieces concentrated in lower circulated grades through Very Fine. Mint State coins are condition rarities and command sharp premiums at auction. Authentication remains essential: verify both arrowheads beside the date, confirm the CC mintmark spacing and position below the eagle, and check planchet weight against the 6.25 gram Arrows standard. Altered Philadelphia 1873 Arrows pieces with added CC mintmarks have appeared in the marketplace, and certified examples in PCGS or NGC holders remain the only safe acquisition path.

The 1873-CC Arrows sits in the apex Key Date tier of the series alongside the 1870-CC and the 1873-CC No Arrows, with auction prices that comfortably run into five figures for honest circulated examples and into six figures at the high end of the survivor pyramid. Collectors building the four-date Carson City Seated quarter set often acquire this issue late in the project, after the more available 1872-CC and 1871-CC are in place. The combination of the Carson City origin and the historically anchored Arrows subtype makes the issue genuinely two collectible stories in one coin. For the broader story of Gobrecht's design, the 1873 Coinage Act, and the series' production arc, see the Seated Liberty Quarter series history.