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Toughest proof indian cents?
rhedden
Posts: 6,621 ✭✭✭✭✭
I have a few proof Indian cents in my collection, but never really gave much thought too which dates are the toughest to obtain. The 1864-L proof obviously stands out, but what are the other "key dates" in this series? What are the dates that "virtually never" come nice? Anyone here ever complete the set?
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I just wanted to say that I have one and it's a 1901 PCGS PR64BN.
It's easily top three of my favorite coins and am so happy with myself for getting it.
In doing standard research before bidding on it, there was very limited auction archive info.
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
Michael Kittle Rare Coins --- 1908-S Indian Head Cent Grading Set --- No. 1 1909 Mint Set --- Kittlecoins on Facebook --- Long Beach Table 448
<< <i>Early/mid 1870's don't tend to look nice. >>
Among the few Proof Indian cents I have seen or handled from that era, the Proof coins seem to have been made pretty shabbily. I remember a Choice Proof 1870 Indian cent that looked like an Unc. to me. The mirrors were non existent, and it was dull. Yet it was graded either PR-64 or 65, I forget which. If I had been grading it, I don't think I would have spotted it as a Proof. I know that other Proof coins from the era tend not to be nice.
A quick scan of the list reveals that the early dates are the tough ones, with few exceptions (1862). Another useful fact is that the 1880s dates are the most common, not the post-1900 dates. Now if we want to introduce complicating factors like Red and Cameo designations, we can fight over this list for a good solid week. But what else are coin forums useful for anyway?
1 1864-L 19
2 1860 135
3 1861 145
4 1864-br 164
5 1863 171
6 1865 195
7 1868 212
8 1866 234
9 1867 234
10 1869 243
11 1875 258
12 1874 263
13 1896 269
14 1870 273
15 1864-CN 273
16 1859 281
17 1907 302
18 1895 306
19 1876 312
20 1871 313
21 1906 327
22 1905 335
23 1897 352
24 1872 355
25 1890 358
26 1894 362
27 1904 365
28 1862 367
29 1873 369
30 1891 380
31 1893 383
32 1900 386
33 1898 390
34 1908 394
35 1901 396
36 1899 398
37 1888 399
38 1889 400
39 1903 406
40 1909 413
41 1887 444
42 1902 454
43 1878 477
44 1877 490
45 1892 494
46 1882 532
47 1879 566
48 1881 597
49 1885 635
50 1886 T1/2 650
51 1880 655
52 1884 694
53 1883 856
1864 No L
1865
Plus a proof coin may be "work hardened" by the multiple blows from the dies - this makes the proofs tougher than non-proofs. ... :-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_scale
Oh, wait - "toughest to obtain". I should read before posting!!
There is info on Lincolns as well IHC proofs that may shed some light on your quest.
Proof Lincoln & IHC thread
"If I say something in the woods and my wife isn't there to hear it.....am I still wrong?"
My Washington Quarter Registry set...in progress
sparky- I enjoyed looking at the population charts WingedLiberty1957 put together. I can't believe how few people responded to that thread. I feel like collecting of top-flight classic coins is a dead art when a thread like that drops right off the board, while someone's eBay dispute reaches 100 posts. Sigh.
The charts do confirm what the pop. report suggests, which is that there was a huge spike in the mintage of proof Indians in the 1880s. makes me appreciate my 1884 PR65 a lot less!
Knowledge is the enemy of fear