Mexico 1876/5 Variety?

Numismat - Can you post pictures of the Mint mark and assayer initial at the same scale and the entire obverse of the coin (date side)?

The 5 centavo series is noted for recuts and overdates. There are many varieties - some not even reported in the average texts (like Krause). There are also numerous recuts in legends also undocumented. So it is a series that is worth looking at closely. It is also a fairly unpopular series so prices are actually lower than they could be if the coins ever become popular.

The dies for the decimal series were not made to the same standards as the 8R because these coins did not need to be accepted as trade coins in China. This series was primarily a "local use" series with relatively low mintages.

Now as to the 6 in question, I will do some checking to see if I can locate a picture of the overdate. However, based on what I see, I would tend to attribute it to Die Deterioration. The enlarged area on the right side of the 6 is raised above the surface level of the number itself. That in turn means that the die was DEEPER at that point than the 6 impression. That does not make sense to me if it is an overdate.

Numismat The pictures confirm the fact that the dies were late state with many chips and worn spots. There are several places were wear has deepened the die. I was pretty sure this would be the case.

There is in fact a slight misallignment of the strike, but that was also a fairly common fault in this series. As I recall, the perfectly centered strike is considered "best" by most collectors. But personally, I prefer out of allignment - off center - cracked and worn dies.