Two new 1875-CC die marriages in 24 hours
This story is living proof that one should never stop looking for new things, even if you think you know the whole story. It is the story of the 1875-CC twenty-cent piece. For years and years, both
authors (and other collectors and dealers) knew there were only two die pairings used in striking the 1875-CC coins. First, the combination of the recut 5 obverse/left date position, with the
High and Close CC reverse; and second, the far-right date with the Wide CC reverse. For years, every example the authors had seen was either one pairing or the other.
Then came the August, 2013 ANA World’s Fair of Money in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois. On Wednesday afternoon, collector Mark Obstalecki approached me (John Frost), and when he discovered this book
was being written, he offered a question – “How many die pairs were used for the 1875-CC?” The answer, of course, was “Two.” Mark responded, “Nope, three!” and passed over his coin for an opinion.
He said, “I have looked this coin over many times, and I think it is a new reverse die.” Mark mentioned that it was a series of prominent die cracks on the reverse, especially at the Y in TWENTY,
that first attracted his attention to the coin, and began examining it closely.
Mark offered his coin up for careful examination, and I was quickly able to confirm that his coin, graded AU58 by PCGS, clearly presented a new reverse die not previously seen or noticed. Both letters of the CC mintmark were in positions not seen previously. After conferring with Lane, we were agreed. Very similar to the known “Close CC” reverse die, but not exactly the same – the letters were positioned a little lower. Not just a new die marriage, but an entirely new reverse die! |
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Based on the advanced and dramatic die cracks on the reverse, coupled with the sharpness of details of the die gouges on the obverse die, it was determined that this new die marriage preceded what was
always believed to be the first pairing. In the world of twenty-cent pieces, this was big news.
The authors began searching all 1875-CC coins they could find, looking for this new reverse, both in person at the ANA, and online in auctions. That night, pay dirt! Lane found a single coin online
grading Fine and immediately purchased it. A lucky find indeed. The next morning at the ANA show, I was looking through stacks of 1875-CC coins looking for the same thing.
Many people understand what “getting into a groove” is… when one knows something so well that he or she knows what they will see on the reverse side when they see the front. This was no
exception here. By looking at the 1875-CC obverse date position, I knew what would be seen on the reverse. While looking for the new reverse, a repetition of what was seen on the obverse and what
was expected on the reverse was played over and over again in my mind...
“Left date and recut 5, . . . high close CC.”
“Left date, . . . high close CC.”
“Right date, . . . wide CC.”
“Left date, . . . high close CC.”
When looking at the fifth coin in one dealer’s stack...
“Right date, . . .”
I knew I would see the Wide CC revers... except that I didn’t.
I was looking at a coin with the High Close CC reverse. My immediate reaction was “That’s not right” and thus re-examined the obverse, figuring a mistake had been made.
Nope – it was indeed the far-right date in combination with the “wrong” reverse. The only conclusion was that this coin represented a combination of known dies not seen
previously – yet another new die marriage!
Doubling the number of known die marriages from two to four in a time span of less than 24 hours is not a normal occurrence. Perhaps the most humorous moment of the show occurred when I
ran into Mark Obstalecki again and asked him, “Hey Mark, how many die marriages were used for the 1875-CC?” When he answered, “Three, of course!” the response was “No, four!” while handing
him the new discovery. Remarkable.
When reported to the Liberty Seated Collectors Club (LSCC), the news sent others looking for these new combinations as well. At the same ANA convention, a couple more examples of this new
combination (far-right date, high close CC) were found. And since then, a few more have been discovered – enough now that while it can be considered scarce, it isn’t rare. No other coins
with the new reverse (low close CC) were found for months.
This entire experience in August 2013 caused the die emission sequence for the 1875-CC to be completely overhauled. The die marriage with the newly-discovered reverse was determined to be
the first pairing struck, based on obverse die state. What was previously believed to be the first (and also the most common) pairing, was moved to second in the sequence, with its reverse
die replacing the badly-cracked first reverse. The new combination of the previously-known dies was found to occur between the two previously known pairings. Finally the “Wide CC” variety
was moved from second to fourth in the sequence. For a depiction of the die emission sequence, the reader can refer to the 1875-CC listing in the Date and
Mintmark Analysis chapter.
How did this happen – two discoveries in such a short time? After viewing many hundreds of 1875-CC coins over many years, opinions were formed by the authors, dealers, and collectors
alike, possibly leading to overlooking situations where something new was unknowingly being examined. Just getting into the rhythm that examining the obverse alone would identity the variety
may have unintentionally created blind spots, so that when the reverse examined in a cursory manner, the fact that it didn’t match what was expected went unnoticed.
It just goes to show – never stop looking, as you never know what is out there to be found.
