1899 Indian Head Cent Repunched Date FS-302 Snow-13

Description

Cross-referenced as FS-302 and Snow-13, this 1899 Indian Head Cent displays a Repunched Date variety where the first 9 was initially punched east of its final date position before being corrected. The Indian Head Cent, designed by James Barton Longacre and struck at the Philadelphia Mint, consists of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams at 19.05 mm diameter. Unlike the FS-301 variety for this date, which shows the full date shifted east, FS-302 primarily displays repunching on the first 9 only, making it a subtler but distinct variety requiring careful examination. The 1899 issue falls in the final decade of the Indian Head series (1859-1909) when dates were individually hand-punched into working dies using steel punches and a mallet, creating numerous opportunities for positional errors. Multiple repunched date varieties exist for the 1899 date, each reflecting slightly different misalignments during this manual process. Collectors should focus on the first 9 under magnification, looking for traces of the original eastward-displaced digit beside its final corrected position.

Attribution History

• FS-302, Snow-13