1855-O Half Dollars Liberty Seated NGC Uncertified Shipwreck Effect Arrows

1855-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar Arrows - NGC Shipwreck Effect - SS Republic

Offered here is an authentic 1855-O Liberty Seated Half Dollar with Arrows, struck at the New Orleans Mint and encapsulated by NGC with the SS Republic Shipwreck Effect designation.

The 1855-O Seated Liberty half dollar is a two-year Arrows subtype (1854–1855) from the Liberty Seated series. Arrows at the date mark the reduced-weight standard authorized by the Coinage Act of February 21, 1853. The coin was recovered from the wreck of the S.S. Republic, a sidewheel steamship that sank in a hurricane off the Georgia coast on October 25, 1865, while bound from New York to New Orleans with a cargo of specie.

The coin is certified in an NGC SS Republic holder with the Shipwreck Effect designation rather than a numeric Sheldon grade. That designation recognizes saltwater exposure from more than a century on the ocean floor and is the standard NGC attribution for recovered Republic silver. Surface texture, corrosion, and remaining detail vary by piece and should be judged from the photographs and the NGC label.

The 1855-O Arrows half dollar had a mintage of 3,688,000 coins, the largest single-year output of the short Arrows subtype from any mint. New Orleans examples are additionally desirable when documented to the Republic wreck.

The obverse features Christian Gobrecht’s Seated Liberty design, with Liberty seated on a rock, holding a Liberty cap on a pole and a shield inscribed LIBERTY. Thirteen stars surround the figure, and the date 1855 appears below with arrowheads at either side.

The reverse features Gobrecht’s heraldic eagle with a shield on its breast, an olive branch and arrows in its talons, and the inscriptions UNITED STATES OF AMERICA and HALF DOL. The distinctive “O” mintmark appears below the eagle. Unlike the 1853 Arrows and Rays type, the 1855 reverse has no rays.

The coin was struck at the New Orleans Mint and bears the distinctive “O” mintmark.

Struck in 90% silver and 10% copper, the coin has a standard weight of 12.44 grams and a reeded edge.

NGC has encapsulated this example as a Shipwreck Effect recovery from the S.S. Republic. The holder documents the wreck provenance; it does not assign a numeric grade because saltwater exposure prevents a conventional surface assessment.

Coin Details

Year: 1855 Mint: New Orleans Mintmark: O Denomination: Fifty Cents Series: Liberty Seated Half Dollar Issue Type: Circulation Strike Special Variety: Arrows at Date / SS Republic Shipwreck Recovery Commemorative Theme: S.S. Republic Shipwreck, sunk 1865 Composition: 90% Silver, 10% Copper Silver Weight: 0.3600 Troy Ounce Mintage: 3,688,000 Weight: 12.44 Grams Diameter: 30.60 mm Edge: Reeded Obverse Designer: Christian Gobrecht Reverse Designer: Christian Gobrecht Certification: NGC Grade: Shipwreck Effect Designation: SS Republic

The combination of 1855-O New Orleans production, short-lived Arrows subtype, documented S.S. Republic shipwreck provenance, and NGC Shipwreck Effect encapsulation makes this coin a particularly desirable addition to a Seated Liberty, Arrows type, New Orleans, shipwreck, or specialized 19th-century U.S. coin collection.

Please review all photographs and the NGC certification label carefully for the exact appearance, attribution, designation, wreck provenance, and condition of the coin offered.