1866 Indian Head Cent Repunched Date FS-302 Snow-3

Description

Listed as FS-302 in the Cherrypickers' Guide and Snow-3 in the Snow reference, this 1866 Indian Head Cent displays a repunched date with the digit 1 punched west of its final position. Repunched dates on Indian Head Cents occurred when date digits, individually punched into the working die by hand, required correction or reinforcement, leaving traces of the initial placement visible alongside the final position. The westward shift of the 1 is the primary diagnostic for this variety. The 1866 Indian Head Cent was struck during the Reconstruction era at the Philadelphia Mint, and its mintage places it among the lower-production dates in the Indian Head series, adding a degree of relative scarcity to any attributed variety. The dual cross-referencing as both FS-302 and Snow-3 ensures visibility across two widely used reference systems — the Cherrypickers' Guide favored by general collectors and the Snow catalog preferred by Indian Head Cent specialists. Repunched dates are among the most commonly encountered varieties on Indian Head Cents due to the hand-punching method used for date application throughout the series' production from 1859 through 1909.

Attribution History

• FS-302, Snow-3