I've looked over this coin for several days now, before tossing in my opinion, it's a really good match on some areas of the die and a miss on others. Going through Rick Snow's attribution guide I find a couple of varieties it could possibly be, here is what Rick has to say about 1864 bronze IHCs:
Quote:Although the copper nickel 1864
Indian cent is readily available, the quality of the pieces encountered is quite poor. Extremely attractive gems are very difficult to find. Typically, the coins show mushy details due to the Mint's economy with the dies. They were used as long as possible to avoid unnecessary expense. The striking pressure needed to strike up the hard metal put strain on the dies and they eroded quickly. A coin struck from the dies in these later stages of wear show details that are rounded from the repeated outward spread of the planchets against the die. The cartwheel luster on these pieces will sometimes be quite dramatic.
Many of the dies used to strike the copper-nickel pieces were still usable after the changeover to bronze in May. Some varieties, for example S1, are available in both metals. Many coins show apparent repunching on the last 4 in the date. There may be collector interest in this feature, but it can hardly be called a premium variety since it exists on more than half the dies encountered.
Most all the varieties found are minor repunched dates. Their proper attribution is complicated by the existence of this defective digit punch.
The 4 on this coin also appears to have repunching which falls in line with a real coin. I think it's like real, with a very worn out die on the reverse. Though it's a tough call, I'd love to see this one in hand with a very accurate set of calipers, a scale and my stereo microscope.
I'm really at 80% real 20% fake. Not conclusive either way from these photos and they are pretty good as far as photos we get to see often. I also agree with redRider on the improper mixing of alloys - NOT cast. Likely a worn out die.
"Buy the Book Before You Buy the Coin" - Aaron R. Feldman - "And read it" - Me 2013!
ANA Life Member #3288 in good standing since 1981, ANS, Early American Coppers Member (EAC), Colonial Coin Collectors Club member (C4), Conder Token Collector Club member (CTCC), Civil War Token Society (CWTS) member, Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC) & Numismatic Bibliomania Society member (NBS), USMex, Member in good standing, 2¢ variety collector.
See my want page:
http://goccf.com/t/140440Edited by westcoin
10/12/2021 8:58 pm
Posted 08/15/2021 10:19 am
