1891 Indian Head Cent Repunched Date FS-301 Snow-3

Description

Cross-referenced as FS-301 in the Fivaz-Stanton Cherrypickers' Guide and Snow-3 in the Rick Snow attribution system, this 1891 Indian Head Cent displays a repunched date variety where all four digits of the date 1891 show evidence of repunching, with the original date punched north of the final position. The northward shift of the initial punch application is visible across all four numerals — 1, 8, 9, and 1 — creating a strong and easily identifiable variety where remnants of the first date impression appear above each final digit, producing a consistent directional pattern that leaves no doubt about the repunching's orientation. Repunched dates on Indian Head Cents occurred during the die manufacturing process when date logotypes (individual numeral punches or combined date punches) were hammered into the working die, and imprecise initial placement required a second, corrective application that shifted the date to its intended position while leaving traces of the first impression. The FS-301 designation in the Cherrypickers' Guide confirms this variety's significance as one worth searching for, while the Snow-3 cross-reference connects it to Rick Snow's comprehensive Indian Head Cent attribution system. The Indian Head Cent was designed by James Barton Longacre, struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1891 in 95% copper and 5% tin and zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a 19.05 mm diameter. The 1891 issue had a mintage of approximately 47.1 million pieces. The full-date repunching across all four digits makes this a particularly satisfying variety for visual attribution, as the uniform northward displacement creates a consistent doubled-date appearance that can often be detected without high-powered magnification.

Attribution History

• FS-301, Snow-3