High Grade Victorian Cent Varieties

Not many people are more interested in Victorian cent varieties than I am. I collect them in low grades, I collect them in high grades, and I have written four books about them. Let's just say that I am enthusiastic about their appeal and potential interest to collectors.

This week SPP acquired a wonderful mint state 1884 obverse 1. At nearly the same time I purchased the 1859 cent shown at the end of this post. As much as I like Vicky varieties, these two terrific coins coming out of the woodwork remind me about several points that I have known for a long time, which variety collectors rarely discuss, and of which they should be aware.

First, please consider that collectible varieties can result in any of the following situations:

1. Some varieties consist of multiple dies (1859 W9/8 have 13 reverse dies)(1891 SDLL have 3 reverse dies)(1892 obverse 2 have 2 obverse dies)(several more).
2. Some varieties consist of only one obverse or one reverse die (1859 DP2, 1859 TP1, 1881H single serif N, 1884 obverse 1, 1886 obverse 1a, and many more).
3. A few varieties consist of only certain die states of a single die (1859 DP1 has a reverse die chip. Without it, it isn't a DP1.)(1891 LDLL "C with Handle" comes from a die chip forming late in the life of a single reverse die.)(The 1858 "Missing 5" comes from a filled die during a portion of the life of that reverse die.)(Several more.)

Of course these three categories neglect die marriages. Many varieties may consist of a single die, but that die may have been married to several opposing dies.

Realizing that many very scarce Victorian cent varieties come from either Category 1 or 2, above, leads to the inevitible conclusion that these scarce varieties occur on every coin struck by a die, or dies. A shortened die life is what makes them scarce.

Now, it was possible for a die to break striking its first coin. My research on 1858 and 1891 cents make me think that rarely happened. Quite a few dies struck only a few hundred, or a few thousand, coins and I think that scenario is much more likely than, say 25 coins.

So where am I going with this? In my opinion, even varieties we now consider very, very scarce (1881H single serif N, 1859 TP1, SPP's 1884 obverse 1, the coin I show below) probably still have numerous undiscovered examples out there. Many still have mint state examples waiting to pop out. As old collections get dusted off and sold, I fully expect some surprises to surface. Some verieties we once thought were rare, or scarce, in high grade (for example I know of about six 1894 fat 4 cents in mint state including mine in 65) will turn out not to be as hard to find as we once thought. Others will prove to be rare, or non-existent, in mint state. It's all part of what makes this a wonderful hobby. Enjoy the coin and let's watch Victorian cent variety collecting evolve.