Rare Octagonal 1826 Large Cent Error

that was the prototype for the stop sign, I think.

Rare? Yes. - I have never seen anything like it before.
Tampered with post Mint? - I think most probably a qualified 'yes'.

Supporting evidence for this theory is the thickened rims mid way along the straight sections. The high points in these areas long since worn down, - most probably deliberately.
Circulation coins produced by a mint do not show this 'thickened' feature.

I would love to see what PCGS has to say, and to be proven wrong.

Is it possible to provide an independently provable provenance?

A poor man's Pan Pac Half Union.

I KNEW it was a bad idea to reveal my treasure!

sel_69l said



I'm pretty sure what they would say, sel - it would probably be an epic slab!
If anyone would like to contribute towards my submission fees and shipping costs for this exquisite beauty, you will earn a proportionate portion of the proceeds when it is sold by Stack's Bowers or whoever the lucky agent might be.

Money talks, Dearborn. You know what walks! Granted, this is not a 1917 Lincoln Wheat cent DDO or 1856 Flying Eagle cent as we've seen lately, but we're still talking big big bucks!

Let's see... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,... Yup! Sure looks like one of them thar 'Pieces of Eight' to me. I'd guess it's silver, but they must have annealed it incorrectly. That or they learned how to transmogrify precious metal into base metal.

The creator of this piece needs to be paid a visit by the vice squad.

Might you consider starting a year set of octagonal large cents? Collecting the varieties though would be tough!

Seriously though, this octagonal coin was likely created during the Civil War era, being a copperhead issue.

https://www.coinbooks.org/v26/esylu...6n11a13.html