Gerry Fortin Collection 1837 - 1860
1853-O Arrows

Owner Comments:

Mintage: 1,100,000
Obverse Dies: 4 Known

The 1853 New Orleans date is rarely found with full head detail and a strong strike. Of the four known obverse dies, dimes from Obverse 2 typically show full heads and strong dates even though this die does shatter with usage. Dimes from Obverse 1 are almost always seen with little or no head detail and haloing around the left stars. Obverses 3 and 4 exhibit weak dates.

The date and arrows placement on 1853 New Orleans dimes is consistent across all obverse dies as seen with the hubbed subset of 1853 With Arrows Philadelphia dies. At this point in time, it can be concluded that the date and arrows were placed into the hub die for New Orleans obverse dies. Interestingly, both reverse dies from 1852 are again used by the New Orleans mint to strike 1853 coinage.


Plate Coin: Fortin 103, Eliasberg Pedigree in PCGS OGH. Both obverse and reverse are fully struck for F-103 variety, the full strike is extremely difficult to locate. Original rose/gold toning over lustrous surfaces. Many years of searching for a fully struck Mint State 1853-O dime has come to an end.