The 1875 Dot Cent: Did It Catch a U.S. Mint Crook?
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What’s up with the unusual raised dot on the reverse of some 1875 Indian Head Cents? That’s the question many coin collectors have asked for decades. The little raised dot in question appears near the top left corner of the “N” in the word “ONE” on the reverse of the coin.
No mintage records are known to state exactly how many of these 1875 Dot Reverse Indian Cents, classified as “Snow-16” or “S16,” were struck. It's believed Coiner Archibald Loudon Snowden, instructed Coining Room Foreman A.W. Downing to modify a single reverse die slightly to be used only on a single press in order to catch a U.S. Mint employee suspected of taking coins directly from inside the press room.
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Comments
Cool story. If true, a very subtle change that they would be astounded at seeing how much attention it gets to this day.
That is the first time I have heard that story.... cool idea though.... we used similar traps in business over the years... Always caught the thieves.... Cheers, RickO
The U.S. Mint general correspondence for 1875 is here - https://nnp.wustl.edu/library/archivedetail/515202, if someone wants to dig through it.
It's believed....................
nice "story" but I think I've heard enough.
I’ve owned several of them. Always looking for more
This coin is written up in Mega Red.
That one has eluded me for half a century!
Here's a "biggering" of the dot on the N.
And while there is no definitive proof that 1875 Indian Head Cents bearing the raised dot on the reverse actually are the coins tracing back to Snowden’s and Downing’s intentional die alteration, numismatic experts are generally comfortable in attributing the coins to the Mitchell incident.
it's always nice when a cure finds an illness.
I agree that the connection between this spot and that story has never been proven.
nice read