1905 Indian Head Cent Repunched Date FS-301 Snow-1

Description

Recognized in both the Fivaz-Stanton and Snow catalogs (FS-301, Snow-1), this repunched date on the 1905 Indian Head Cent displays a southward shift of the final digit 5, where the original punch of the numeral landed south of the intended position before being corrected with a second, properly placed punch. The dual-catalog recognition — FS-301 designating it as the first repunched date variety in the Fivaz-Stanton Cherry Pickers' Guide for the 1905 Indian Head Cent, and Snow-1 as the first entry in J.T. Stanton and Kevin Flynn's reference on the series — confirms this as the primary and most widely recognized repunched date variety for the date. During this era, individual date digits were punched into working dies by hand using steel number punches, and any imprecision in the initial placement required correction through repunching at the intended location. The southward shift means the ghost image of the original 5 appears below the final position, creating a doubled lower serif and extended lower curve on the digit that is visible under magnification. James Barton Longacre's Indian Head Cent design (1859-1909) features Liberty wearing a Native American headdress on the obverse with an oak wreath and shield on the reverse. The 1905 issue was struck at the Philadelphia Mint in a composition of 95% copper and 5% tin-and-zinc, weighing 3.11 grams with a diameter of 19 mm — specifications that had remained unchanged since the design's introduction in 1859. With only four years remaining before the Indian Head Cent gave way to Victor David Brenner's Lincoln Cent in 1909, the 1905 issue represents the mature years of the series. Examination at 5x to 7x magnification focused on the lower portion of the digit 5 reveals the displaced original punch most clearly.

Attribution History

• FS-301, Snow-1