1905 Indian Head Cent Die Clash (Double C)

Description

This 1905 Indian Head Cent displays a dual-event die clash on the obverse where the letter C from CENT on the reverse has been transferred in front of Liberty\'s eye on two separate occasions — the double C impression indicating the obverse and reverse dies struck each other without a planchet between them at least twice during this die\'s service life. The two C impressions may be slightly offset from each other, documenting that the dies were not in precisely the same relative position during each clash event, as even minor variations in die alignment between successive unprotected contacts produce measurably different transferred image locations. This dual-clash variety is specifically distinguished from a separate single-clash example also documented for the 1905 Indian Head Cent, establishing that multiple die pairs from this date experienced clash events. The Indian Head Cent was designed by James Barton Longacre, featuring Liberty wearing a feathered headdress on the obverse and a wreath encircling ONE CENT on the reverse. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1905, the coin is composed of 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19.05 mm. The Indian Head series ran from 1859 through 1909, and the design\'s relatively simple reverse — with the large C of CENT positioned near the die\'s center — creates clash transfer marks that appear prominently in the open field area in front of Liberty\'s face on the obverse, where the absence of competing design elements makes the transferred letters clearly visible. Die clashes on Indian Head Cents are actively collected as a distinct specialty, with the double-clash variant representing a more unusual occurrence that documents repeated die contact events.