New Acquisition

jfriedm56

Just added this 1869 S-3 variety Indian Head cent to my collection of earlier MS 65 RB’s.

CoffeeTime

Nice addition!

TomB

I like it. It looks like it has nice, warm color, frosty luster and even toning.

Copperindian

Hi Zack - you know I love this variety! Any idea which die pair it is? I’m coming up with 3g, which is one of the tougher ones. Hard to tell from the pics, but I think I see a die crack running from the ribbon end through the “1” & what I think is a small die chip on the right part of the lower serif of the “E” in CENT. If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it’s a 3g.
Ken

jfriedm56

@Copperindian said:
Hi Zack - you know I love this variety! Any idea which die pair it is? I’m coming up with 3g, which is one of the tougher ones. Hard to tell from the pics, but I think I see a die crack running from the ribbon end through the “1” & what I think is a small die chip on the right part of the lower serif of the “E” in CENT. If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it’s a 3g.
Ken

Thanks Ken. If you can see those diagnostics then your eyesight is keen, for I have the coin right in front of me and don’t see either. Is there a pictorial of that die pair?

Copperindian

Zack - Hard to make out these details due to the color mix shown in the TV.

These are pics of my 3g. On yours I’m pretty sure I see a obv die crack but can’t tell if it runs from the denticles or the ribbon end. On the rev, note the tiny chip emanating from the E in CENT. It’s in the middle of the lower serif on the right. If that’s not on yours, it’s not the 3g die pair. I’m ruling out the 3a as I don’t see the clashing between the last 4 feather tips. Plus, I don’t see the usual die roughness on the upper N in ONE. The 3b has a big die lump on the N in ONE, so it’s not that. The 3c has a rust area on the left side of the O in ONE. If that’s there, I can’t make it out. Both the 3d & 3f have a die crack through the upper part of the shield. I don’t see that, so I’m ruling them out. The 3e has a distinct die gouge running SW to NE through the shield; definitely not that one.
That leaves only the 3g & 3h. The latter can be determined by the aforementioned obv die crack. If it starts in the denticles & runs past the date (not through it) & up to the ribbon bottom to the last feather tip, that’s your die pair. It might be faint toward the end to the tip. I just can’t make it out from the TV. Let me know; I’m interested with what you come up with.
Ken

jfriedm56

@Copperindian, you are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to IHC varieties. Thanks for all the above information. I’ll have to take a closer look and report back. Thank you Ken.

pursuitofliberty

Lovely looking example!

jfriedm56

So Ken, I’ve gone through all the different die marriages that you’ve suggested and none really fit the bill. The only diagnostic point I see is possibly the die chip on the E in cent, but that’s suspect. I don’t see the die crack above the date either. So I have no idea. But as I’ve said before- you are one of the most knowledgeable people I know concerning IHCents. Thank you. Zack.

Morgan13

Nice coin. It has the look of a nice leather.
Everytime I see one of these beauties I want to add one to my collection.
When I get back on my feet I am going to purchase a really nice IHC but in a common date.
Very nice choice.

Dave99B

Fabulous example! Congrats on the pickup.

Dave

winesteven

Zack - I love it! Great pickup for your growing IHC collection. And yes, @Copperindian is super knowledgeable!

Steve

Copperindian

Hey Zack - you’re most welcome. I like to try & unlock a mystery! Final thoughts: the die chip is really small & easy to miss on the 3g but is a diagnostic only for that die pair. It looks like a tiny stick.
Otherwise, it has to be the 3h pair depending on the location of the die crack. None of the others appear to fit.
Looking ahead, if you’re going to FUN bring it along - maybe both are heads together can figure it out.
Ken

Copperindian

@winesteven said:
Zack - I love it! Great pickup for your growing IHC collection. And yes, @Copperindian is super knowledgeable!

Steve

Appreciate the props Steve!
Ken

winesteven

@Copperindian said:

@winesteven said:
Zack - I love it! Great pickup for your growing IHC collection. And yes, @Copperindian is super knowledgeable!

Steve

Appreciate the props Steve!
Ken

Earned and well deserved, NOT fluff!

Steve

jfriedm56

@Copperindian said:
Hey Zack - you’re most welcome. I like to try & unlock a mystery! Final thoughts: the die chip is really small & easy to miss on the 3g but is a diagnostic only for that die pair. It looks like a tiny stick.
Otherwise, it has to be the 3h pair depending on the location of the die crack. None of the others appear to fit.
Looking ahead, if you’re going to FUN bring it along - maybe both are heads together can figure it out.
Ken

Thanks Ken. Still, I may see the die chip, but for the life of me, can’t discern the obverse die crack. Perhaps this is an early state die strike without the crack happening yet?

jfriedm56

@winesteven, thanks Steve, as always.

Copperindian

Hi Zack - I dug out a couple more pics of my 3g & expanded them:

Here’s the actual pics:

If you can’t match yours to these, it’s another die pair. Plus, if you can’t see the die crack, it’s not the 3h either. Here’s mine:

The crack runs all the way to the last feather.
The one we haven’t addressed much is the 3c. It has a distinctive die chip on the O in ONE on the rev. Here’s my example:

I guess I could (should?) have PM’d you, but maybe others would find this interesting.
Ken

jfriedm56

@Copperindian, ok Ken. As many times as I’ve looked at it, I can’t make that die crack appear and no die chip on the E either. There is nothing extraordinary that stands out on this die marriage so I guess we’ll never know.

Copperindian

@jfriedm56 said:
@Copperindian, ok Ken. As many times as I’ve looked at it, I can’t make that die crack appear and no die chip on the E either. There is nothing extraordinary that stands out on this die marriage so I guess we’ll never know.

Actually, I think we do. We’ve eliminated b, d, e, f, g & h. Most likely c as well. That leaves a. I can’t make out from the pics if there’s clashing between the last 4 feather tips + I can’t make out if there’s roughness from die rust in the middle part of the N in ONE on the rev. The feather clashing can be light but it should be visible.

jfriedm56

@Copperindian, looks like no and no Ken.