Arrows and Rays: Every Time the Metal in American Coins Changed

Two quarters, both dated 1873. One has an arrowhead on each side of the date. The arrows are a message: the weight of the coin changed that year. The metal in American coins has changed again and again since 1792, and a few times the Mint put a sign on the coin to tell you. This film is every change, and every sign. THE FIRST STANDARD. The law of 1792 set silver coins at 1,485 parts pure silver in 1,664, and gold at 11 parts in 12. For years before 1834 an American gold coin was worth more than its face, so gold was shipped abroad and melted. On 28 June 1834 Congress cut the gold in every gold coin, and the Mint took E PLURIBUS UNUM off the half eagle so people could tell the new, lighter coins from the old. In 1837 gold and silver were both set at 900 fine. ARROWS AND RAYS. After 1849 California gold made silver dear, and American silver coins were worth more melted than spent. On 21 February 1853 Congress made the half dime, dime, quarter and half dollar about 7 percent lighter, and the new coins carried arrows at the date. The quarter and half dollar also got rays behind the eagle. The rays made the coins harder to strike and lasted one year. THE SMALLEST SIGN. The three-cent silver began in 1851 at 75 percent silver. The same law raised it to 90 percent and made it lighter, and from 1854 its star has three outlines and its reverse an olive branch and a bundle of arrows. The arrows came off the date in 1856; the lighter weight stayed. WHITE CENTS AND BRONZE. In 1857 the large cent and half cent ended and the cent became small, 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel. In 1864 it went to bronze. THE ARROWS COME BACK. On 12 February 1873 the dime, quarter and half dollar moved to metric weights, a little heavier than before, and the arrows returned for 1873 and 1874. In 1853 they meant lighter; in 1873 they meant heavier. The same law made the trade dollar, with its weight struck on the coin. THE WAR. From October 1942 to 1945 the nickel was 56 percent copper, 35 percent silver and 9 percent manganese, marked by a large mint mark over Monticello. The 1943 cent was zinc-coated steel, and cents of 1944 to 1946 were made from salvaged shell cases. SILVER OUT. On 23 July 1965 silver came out of the dime and quarter, and the half dollar dropped to 40 percent. Nothing on the design changed; the copper core shows on the edge. In 1971 the half lost its silver, and the Eisenhower dollar was clad, with 40 percent silver versions struck for collectors through 1976. THE LAST CHANGE. In 1982 the cent went from copper to copper-plated zinc partway through the year. A copper 1982 weighs 3.11 grams and a zinc one 2.5. The only sign left is a scale. This film was requested by a viewer, title included. Thank you. No values. No narration. CHAPTERS 0:00 Two quarters, one difference 0:56 Arrows and Rays 1:14 The first standard 2:56 Arrows and rays 4:31 The smallest sign 5:38 White cents and bronze 6:21 The arrows come back 7:50 The war 8:46 Silver out 10:10 The last change 10:49 Every sign SOURCES Wikipedia: Coinage Act of 1792, 1834, 1853 and 1965; Half eagle; Three-cent silver; Seated Liberty coinage; Flying Eagle cent. CoinWeek: Classic Head Half Eagle 1834-1838; 1853 Liberty Seated Quarter, Arrows and Rays; Three Cent Silver, Type 2; Flying Eagle Cent; 1982 Lincoln Memorial Cent. Q. David Bowers, Silver Dollars and Trade Dollars of the United States. Stack's Bowers type pages; PCGS CoinFacts; APMEX. Every figure checked against two sources. IMAGE CREDITS 1795 dollar; 1813 and 1834 half eagles; 1853, 1856 and 1874 dimes; 1873 quarters; 1851 and 1854 three-cent silver; 1839 and 1858 cents; 1943 cent; 1938 nickel: National Numismatic Collection, Smithsonian Institution, public domain (ring on the nickel added by Silver or Clad). 1837 quarter and half; 1853 quarter and half dime; 1854 half dollar; 1863 and 1866 cents; 1873 trade dollar; 1942 cent; 1964 half dollar; 1977-D Eisenhower dollar: Bibliotheque nationale de France, public domain. 1965 dime and clad quarter: Mark Morgan, CC BY 2.0. Silver and clad halves: BrayLockBoy, CC BY-SA 4.0. 1971 Eisenhower dollar: Windrain, CC0. 1982 cents: noy-nac, CC BY-SA 4.0. All via Wikimedia Commons. No dealer or grading-service photography is used on this channel, and no photographs of anyone's private collection. #arrowsandrays #seatedliberty #coinhistory #silvercoins #clad #coins #numismatics #silverorclad ------------------------------------------------------------------------