1798 Draped Bust Cent - 1798/7 Overdate - /7 Draped Bust Large Cent Off-Center Strike

Description

This 1798/7 overdate Draped Bust large cent is both an overdate variety — struck from a die on which the 7 of 1797 was imperfectly effaced before the 8 was punched over it — and an off-center strike error. Off-center strikes occur when the planchet is not properly centered between the dies at the moment of striking, causing the impressed design to be shifted to one side and leaving a corresponding crescent of blank copper on the opposite edge. Early United States large cents were struck in pure copper on hand-fed screw presses, and the manual planchet-feeding process made off-center strikes a natural if uncommon occurrence. The 1798/7 overdate is itself a well-known early American die variety.