1853 Arrows and Rays Half NGC MS 64 - white

ANACONDA

It is my opinion that these are hard to come by without unattractive toning.

SethChandler

Great Coin! I agree, they usually can come ugly.

tjkillian

A very nice coin and it is one that I NEED! Too bad it is in the wrong holder

Tom

IndianHeadMan

Ahhhhhhh.....

roadrunner

From what I've seen over the past 18 months I would say that over 50% of the remaining UNC 1853 halves are now white. Maybe more. Many "unattractive" specimens have been dipped to get the grade. And that's right up to MS65. An attractively toned specimen with original surfaces and pizzaz is a real find. That's very hard to find in a 63 to 65 coin.

Don't forget that as a date, the 1853 is one of the most common dates in the entire series. They were fairly heavily saved in all grades right through choice mint state just like the quarters. If it wasn't for the fact that type collecting began to be (or was made) very popular in the late 70's they would bring no more money than say an 1861 half dollar in the same grade. But type forces the issue.

roadrunner

Elcontador

Agree w Roadrunner. It's not unusual for a coin like this one in 4 to turn up at a large auction,
for the reasons he mentioned. Most all of them I've seen are white. I don't own one,
because there's a premium over the No Motto Halves for these coins, and personally, I don't
think it is justified.

Bustman

The A&R is a good buy in MS 58. By that I talking about a 58 that looks MS.