1865 Indian Head Cent (Plain 5) Repunched Date FS-302 Snow-4

Description

Listed in the Cherrypickers' Guide as FS-302 and in the Snow attribution system as Snow-4, this 1865 Indian Head Cent of the Plain 5 variety displays a repunched date in which the digits 18 were punched above their final position, leaving traces of the initial impression visible above the corrected date. The Plain 5 designation distinguishes this coin from the Fancy 5 variety of the same year, based on the style of the 5 digit in the date logotype. Repunched dates on Indian Head Cents resulted from the date logotype being struck into the working die at an incorrect position, requiring a second impression for proper placement. Struck during the final year of the Civil War, the 1865 Indian Head Cent uses the bronze composition of 95% copper with 5% tin and zinc adopted in 1864 when the Mint moved away from the thinner copper-nickel format. James Barton Longacre's Indian Head design had been in production since 1859, and Philadelphia was the sole facility striking cents. The dual listing under both FS-302 and Snow-4 confirms this variety's recognition across the major attribution references for the series.

Attribution History

• FS-302, Snow-4