1871 OC-14

1871 OC-14 Misplaced 187 in Denticles - Top-30 Variety

Die Pair	11 - E
Date Grid	JR of C / 5-5. 0 / Level
Obverse Die States	a

Estimated Rarity	R5+
1, 1 Vertical	C, VSL
Reverse Die States	a

Comments: This is the first of two uses of Obverse 11 and the only use of Reverse E.

Obverse 11
The photo below shows the Obverse 11 attribution grid. Obverse 11 exhibits a very notable misplaced date, with 187 visible in the denticles. The misplaced digits are indicated by the arrows in the photo. We’ve included this variety as one of our Top-30. Obverse 11 is shared with OC-12, so either die marriage fills this hole in a Top-30 variety set.

1871 Obverse 11 attribution grid
and misplaced date

Obverse 11 Die States

Perfect die.

No later die states have been observed. In addition to being a Top-30 variety (this obverse die characteristic is shared by OC-12) this is one of the three rarest 1871 business strike die marriages. Only 6 examples are known to the authors.

Reverse E
Reverse E features few markers. One is the LACK of the die dot right of the of the upper serif of the G in GOD that identifies Reverse D. Other minor markers: A lump right of the E in WE; a circular mark on the upper left side of the shaft of the first T in TRUST; a lump between the upper parts of US; a tiny line connecting the left-most talon to the lower stem; another tiny line between the left two talons. These are shown in the following photos.

1871 Reverse E die markers in motto

1871 Reverse E line from talon to stem

Reverse E Die States

Perfect die.

No later states have been observed, but we've personally examined only one example of this reverse, so it's possible that later die states exist.

Photo credits:

Obverse 11: 1871 NGC AU53, from the Osburn-Cushing reference collection.
Reverse E: 1871 AU50 cleaned, from the Osburn-Cushing reference collection.