1903 Indian Head Cent Misplaced Date FS-301 Snow-10

Description

Cross-referenced as FS-301 in the Fivaz-Stanton Cherrypickers' Guide and as Snow-10 in Rick Snow's comprehensive Indian Head Cent variety catalog, this 1903 Indian Head Cent displays a misplaced date variety where the digits 190 were inadvertently punched into the denticles below the corresponding digits 190 in the final date — evidence of an initial date punch impression that struck the die too low before the engraver corrected the positioning. During the die preparation process for Indian Head Cents, a four-digit date logotype was hammered by hand into each working die, and when the initial blow landed below the intended date position, the first three digits of the date left impressions in the denticle border area. The engraver then repositioned the punch correctly and struck again, creating the properly placed date above the misplaced remnant. The three-digit misplacement pattern involving 190 directly below the corresponding final date digits creates a strong diagnostic that can be confirmed by examining the denticle area under 7x to 10x magnification, where the shadowy remnants of the misplaced numerals are visible among the tooth-like border elements. The Indian Head Cent was designed by James Barton Longacre, with the obverse featuring Liberty wearing a Native American feathered headdress and the reverse displaying a wreath enclosing the denomination ONE CENT. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1903 in bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) weighing 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm, the 1903 date had a mintage of approximately 85.1 million pieces. The dual Cherrypickers (FS-301) and Snow (Snow-10) cross-references confirm this as a widely recognized misplaced date variety within the standard Indian Head Cent attribution literature.

Attribution History

• FS-301, Snow-10