Liberty Seated Quarter Arrows (1854 – 1855, 1873-1874)
Twice in the seated quarter production timeline, Christian Gobrecht’s design was altered to denote changes in the weight. First was in 1854-1855 after the weights were reduced. This change was initially designated with both obverse arrows about the date and with rays extending from the eagle on the reverse. To facilitate production quality, the rays were removed, but the Arrow devices remained for two additional years to designate the lighter weight. The Arrows were again added to the Motto coinages in 1873 and 1874 to denote the change from 6.22 grams to 6.25 grams in overall weight. While the weight remained the same for the duration of the series, the Arrows variety was only produced for two years.
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