1866 Indian Head Cent Die Clash (Reverse)

Description

This 1866 Indian Head Cent exhibits a die clash visible on the reverse, where elements of the obverse design have been transferred in incuse (recessed) form onto the reverse die. A die clash occurs when the obverse and reverse dies strike each other without a planchet between them — the considerable force of the coining press drives design elements from each die into the face of the other, creating mirror-image ghost impressions that appear on all subsequently struck coins until the die is retired or the clash marks are polished away. On this specimen, the Indian's feather headdress from James B. Longacre's obverse design has clashed inside the right wreath on the reverse, creating incuse feather impressions amid the oak wreath and shield motif. The 1866 Indian Head Cent was struck at the Philadelphia Mint with a mintage of just under 10 million pieces in the copper-nickel composition (88% copper, 12% nickel) that defined the series from 1860 through 1864 — though in 1864, the composition was changed to bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) for the remaining years through 1909, meaning the 1866 issue is actually a bronze specimen struck two years after the composition change. The 1866 represents a lower-mintage post-Civil War issue produced during the Reconstruction era, when the nation was recovering from conflict and coin production had not yet returned to pre-war levels. Longacre's Indian Head obverse features Liberty wearing a Native American feathered headdress with LIBERTY inscribed on the headband, and die clashes transferring these prominent feather elements to the reverse wreath area are among the more visually dramatic clash patterns found on Indian Head Cents.