"1799/8" Large Cent

cmerlo1

I picked this up cheaply because I'd never seen an alteration like it. It looks like someone actually punched a 9 over the 8 on a genuine 1798 cent. The area around the 9 is indented, and you can see what appears to be the edges of the punch around it. Is this a known alteration? It appears to be quite old.

Walkerguy21D

Very interesting!
Almost looks like the top of a '7' over the new '9'? Or is this a remnant from the punch?

As for being old, there was a reprinted article from the August 1897 issue of The Numismatist warning of the prevalence of
altered cents to look like 1799 - so that game has been going on for a LONG time!

cmerlo1

<< <i>Very interesting!
Almost looks like the top of a '7' over the new '9'? Or is this a remnant from the punch?

As for being old, there was a reprinted article from the August 1897 issue of The Numismatist warning of the prevalence of
altered cents to look like 1799 - so that game has been going on for a LONG time! >>




Thanks for the info! I'm not sure what's going on above the 9, but I see what you see. I'm curious if there's enough meat for someone to recognize it as a Sheldon variety and pin the year down...

Walkerguy21D

Way too worn for me to tell what variety it is.....there are several 1797 varieties with the last numeral high,
which may be what left that little remnant. Further supporting this is that it appears to be a Hairstyle I variety,
though with the level of wear it's really hard to be sure, but the tell tale lower curl of the Type II's are visible
even on pretty worn examples. But I think all 1797's are Type I's (as are some of the 1798's).

CuKevin

Personally that raised part appears to be part of the punch. It can't be a part of a 7 based on what the normal 7 in the date looks like. The highest part of the regular 7 is on the left.

winky

I'd give it a AG9 !