1880 Typical Die Clash TDC-1C-1880-01

Description

Preserved as the first cataloged typical die clash for the 1880 Indian Head Cent, TDC-1C-1880-01 captures a moment when the obverse and reverse dies struck each other without an intervening planchet. When no blank separates the dies during a press cycle, each die receives a mirror-image impression of the opposing design, and subsequent coins show faint ghostly traces of the reverse on the obverse and vice versa. MadDieClashes catalogs such events under the TDC prefix, followed by denomination code 1C, the year, and a sequence number. James Barton Longacre designed the Indian Head Cent in 1859, placing a Liberty figure wearing a Native American feathered headdress on the obverse with an oak wreath and shield on the reverse. By 1880 the design was twenty-one years into its fifty-year production run (1859-1909), and Philadelphia was the sole striking facility. These coins were produced in a 95% copper alloy on 19mm planchets. Die clashes on Indian Head Cents typically manifest as faint wreath elements visible on Liberty's cheek or neck, and reverse traces of the headdress near the wreath interior.

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