1863 Indian Head Cent Die Clash (Reverse)

Description

A die clash is visible on the reverse of this 1863 Indian Head cent. A die clash occurs when the obverse and reverse dies strike each other without a planchet between them, transferring faint design impressions between the two dies. In this case, the Indian's ear is clashed between the "N" and "E" in ONE, and the neck is visible on the bottom left of the shield 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.