United States 1873 half dollar KM-99
The year 1873 saw the generation of many varieties in United States coinage. Legislation ended the production of silver dollars, half dimes, two cent and three cent pieces and authorized the introduction of the trade dollar. The date logotype includes a "closed 3" and an "open 3", introduced because the "closed 3" was felt to be too similar to an eight. Mid year, the weight of the dime, quarter and half dollar were increased slightly to match French silver coinage; these increased weight issues were marked with arrows at the date. The 1873 "no arrows" half dollar is considerably scarcer than its "with arrows" sister yet is priced lower.
Recorded mintage: 801,800 plus 1,815,700 "with arrows".
Specification: 12.44 g, 0.900 fine silver, .360 troy oz ASW, reeded edge, designed by Christian Gobrecht.
Catalog reference: KM 99.
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- Yeoman, R. S., and Kenneth Bressett (ed.), A Guide Book of United States Coins, 65th Ed., Atlanta, GA: Whitman Publishing, 2011.
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