A Limited Production Design

These coins were minted at New Orleans and Philadelphia in 1854 and 1855. For these two years only, the Liberty Seated half dollars featured engraved arrow-heads on either side of the coin’s date on the obverse. As this enhanced design was only used for a limited time, it’s highly coveted by collectors. These coins represent a time capsule of an important part of United States history, and will stand out as truly unique in anyone’s collection.

The "Arrows" or "Arrowhead" design is a variation of the beautiful “Arrows and Rays” design of 1853. Despite their allure, “Arrows and Rays” Liberty Seated half dollars proved very difficult to strike and resulted in excessive die breakage. The Mint had to adjust the design in order to prolong working die life, but still needed a distinguishing mark to familiarize the public with the newly created weight standard authorized in early 1853. The decision was made to remove the rays from the reverse, while keeping the obverse arrowheads remaining at the date. Only an extremely limited number of these coins had been previously certified by the leading coin grading companies, making these treasures even scarcer!

The cache of “Arrows” Liberty Seated half dollars from the SS Republic has been defined by numismatic experts as “a unique and fortuitous opportunity for coin collectors”.

Both the significance of this unique type coin and the very special provenance of these silver half dollars have been recognized by NGC, who created a distinctive label to be used within their protective holders. These labels identify both the “Arrows” pedigree and the unique “Shipwreck Effect” designation set against an image of the SS Republic.

Each coin has been conserved, attributed, and encapsulated by NCS and NGC. The coin arrives in a hardwood display case with an engraved “SS Republic” plate affixed to the cover. Included is an illustrated booklet describing the history of the SS Republic, a DVD video produced by National Geographic and a Certificate of Authenticity.