When grading Arrows and Rays quarters, as with the other Seated Liberty quarters, the high points on the obverse are Liberty's knee, hair and breast. On the reverse, the areas to first show wear are the eagle's neck, claws and the tops of its wings.
Seated half dollars with arrows and rays were struck at two mints, Philadelphia and New Orleans (with the "O" mint mark below the eagle), and both had relatively high mintages.
arrows and rays
Term referring to the quarters and half dollars of 1853. The rays were later removed because the complicated design made striking the coins difficult.
arrows at date ...
Arrows and rays
Term referring to 1853 quarters and half dollars. The rays were removed in 1854 because of striking difficulties created by the busy design.
Arrows at date ...
with arrows and rays: silver Quarter Dollars and Half Dollars of 1853 that have arrowheads on either side of the date and radiating rays on the reverse to indicate changes in their weight.
with arrows and rays Alternate form of arrows and rays.
with motto Alternate form of motto.
with rays Alternate for of rays.
While Arrows and Rays Halves are relatively available in the better grades of AU and lower-end Uncirculated, there are very few truly Gem, upper-end Mint State examples known.
No Motto
Arrows and Rays
Arrows at Date
Motto
Arrows at Date
The series has more than its share of very rare dates, leading with the unique 1866 - No Motto.
1853-O, SEATED LIBERTY, ARROWS AND RAYS TYPE, BREEN 4842
This 1853-O is VERY RARE as the "Blundered 1" Breen-4842 variety. Repunching in date. ANACS Very Fine-35.
Ordering the removal of the rays from subsequent coinage, Snowden effectively defined the Arrows and Rays quarter as a one-year only type, to be followed by the Arrows quarters of 1854-55.
Arrows - Or Arrows at date. In the 1800's, arrows were placed on both sides of the date to indicate a change in the weight of a coin. Arrows and Rays describe a type where the coin had Arrows at the date and rays around the Eagle on the reverse.
A popular type with Liberty obverse and eagle with arrows and rays reverse, sometimes called the "peacock" reverse. The maker's mark "FD" (for the firm of Frontier & Deviercy), appears in the obverse field behind Liberty's head.
 See also: Rays, Dollar, Silver, Quarter, Arrows
  
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