1863 Indian Head Cent Die Chips (Reverse)

Description

Die chips are visible on the reverse of this 1863 Indian Head cent. A die chip occurs when a small piece of the die surface breaks away, and the planchet metal fills the void during striking, creating small raised bumps on the finished coin. In this case, die chips appear between the left wreath and the shield, as well as in the left side of the "T" in CENT on the reverse. The 1863 Indian Head cent was the last copper-nickel issue before the mid-1864 transition to bronze. Civil War-era hoarding meant dies were run far beyond normal use, producing an unusually high number of die breaks and deterioration errors.