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1872 Indian Head Shallow N With Doubling?

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Valued Member

United States
74 Posts
 Posted 01/18/2026  10:11 am Show Profile   Bookmark this topic Add MintPenny to your friends list Get a Link to this Message Number of Subscribers
Hello,
I picked this coin up at my LCS and noticed it was a Shallow N variety. It looks like it has some doubling but I'm not sure if that is just longacre doubling or if there is some sort of variety of the Shallow N reverse that has obverse doubled dies. Anyone with expertise care to chime in?

Thanks for helping me learn and grow.
1872-Indian-Head-Shallow-N-With-Doubling?
1872-Indian-Head-Shallow-N-With-Doubling?
1872-Indian-Head-Shallow-N-With-Doubling?
1872-Indian-Head-Shallow-N-With-Doubling?
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CoinForMe's Avatar
United States
2113 Posts
 Posted 01/18/2026  12:51 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add CoinForMe to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
By the look of the "D" in United, it looks like to me " Die Deterioration Doubling."
- You can see more than one direction of copper spread, especially on the "D" letter in United -
Let's see what others have to say about this, BTW, no matter what, it's a very nice coin to own!
Edited by CoinForMe
01/18/2026 12:52 pm
Valued Member
United States
250 Posts
 Posted 01/18/2026  2:17 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Jimbo48 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It looks like Strike Doubling to me. When there is doubling around all points of a letter or number I usually go with Strike Doubling. I am interested in
what others think.
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jbuck's Avatar
United States
187446 Posts
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CoinForMe's Avatar
United States
2113 Posts
 Posted 01/18/2026  5:25 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add CoinForMe to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply

Quote:
It looks like Strike Doubling to me. When there is doubling around all points of a letter or number, I usually go with Strike Doubling.

. . . . . Machine Doubling VS Die Deterioration
Machine Doubling would be on one side of the letter, while Die Deterioration would be basically all around the letter.
Note: The picture of the "D" below is from the OP Coin...
. . . Let's get others to make the call and have some fun on this also:
1872-Indian-Head-Shallow-N-With-Doubling?
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Dearborn's Avatar
United States
94636 Posts
 Posted 01/18/2026  5:51 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Dearborn to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
I'm not seeing long acre doubling here, looks like DDD to me. But I have not heard on the 'Shallow N' variety before..
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Errers and Varietys's Avatar
United States
73579 Posts
 Posted 01/18/2026  9:24 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Errers and Varietys to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Looks like Longacre's Doubling to me. https://www.error-ref.com/longacre-s-doubling/
Errers and Varietys.
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Petespockets55's Avatar
United States
5765 Posts
 Posted 01/21/2026  08:04 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Petespockets55 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
It looks like Longacre doubling to me, as well.

IMHO, I'm not sure this is the "shallow N" Variety. What years are the "shallow N" variety known to have been produced?
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United States
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 Posted 05/31/2026  07:37 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add MintPenny to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
PCGS Has the shallow N variety for the years 1871 and 1872
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Chase007's Avatar
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7504 Posts
 Posted 05/31/2026  10:20 am  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add Chase007 to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
@E&V correctly called it.

Quote:
Longacre's Doubling
While Longacre's doubling is most associated with the Indian Head cent. It is also found on the Seated Liberty denominations and other coins of that era.

There are two theories for Longacre's doubling. The first, which is most popular, is that the master die was placed into the die steel to form the master die. To add details to the die, the engraver would then shave the sides of the punch used to add design elements, leaving a lip on that punch's sides. The engraver would then conduct an extra hard hit to the punch leaving the shaved sides effects into the die. The effect would eventually wear off as the master die did age, which is why not all coins from a particular working die would have the Longacre's doubling.

This is the second scenario. After adding the design elements to the master die, the engraver would move the punch slightly and tap it again. This would produce a 'lip' on the die, and the effect would make the metal flow into the punched in design elements more readily. In theory, this would also have prolonged the die's life.

The image below shows Longeracre's doubling on
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RedRaider's Avatar
United States
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 Posted 06/02/2026  12:55 pm  Show Profile   Bookmark this reply Add RedRaider to your friends list Get a Link to this Reply
Definitely a Shallow N reverse here, not sure about a DD though, as none are documented.
Shallow N was from 1864-1869, and 1877. Some 1870, 1871 and 1872 have shallow N reverses and they are a collectable variety usually with a premium. 1870 are most common, 1871 is rare, and 1872 is scarce.

1871 Shallow Ns are my favorite cherrypick and I have more than a few examples. Very tough coin in Mint State.
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