1884 1c PR BN

1884 Cent Production: For four years the Mint had pumped out record numbers of cents. Now it slowed production to about half the previous year’s emission.

Survivability: These coins were mostly placed in circulation, and stayed there for long periods. Most are lower-grade circulated pieces. Examples that escaped circulation or destruction are slightly scarce in comparison to the earlier four years. In fact, the percentage of Mint State survivors of any date of the 1880’s is very small compared to the number of coins minted.

Collecting Challenges: Search for attractive examples with sharp details. Avoid problems such as corrosion and heavy spots. Toning should be even and attractive.

Collecting Circulated Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for circulated coins is AU-50. Search out attractive, problem-free examples. Avoid cleaned coins at full price. Many collectors attempt to color-match their sets—striving to get all the coins in a chocolate brown color, for instance. A cleaned coin will usually not blend in well with original coins.

Collecting Mint State Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for Mint State coins is MS-65RB. Choose attractive coins with even coloration. These will usually come well struck, so the main problem is selecting the right eye appeal. Although a tougher date to find than those of 1880 to 1883, the survivors are nearly as plentiful as those dates. The rarity of these coins in high grades depends more on the chance survival of even as small a quantity as a few rolls.

Collecting Proof Issues: This is another high-mintage date. It is one of the easiest dates to locate in PF-63RB to PF-65RD. Full red gems are plentiful. Cameo examples may be a bit diffcult to find but not prohibitively so. Carbon spotting plagues many coins from this decade. The size and placement of spots is usually the determining factor between one that is attractive or unattractive. Copper is a highly reactive metal and care should always be taken to handle these coins very carefully. Prior to modern plastic encapsulation these coins could easily develop spots by careless collectors talking over their exposed collections.

There are only a few minor varieties known for this year: one misplaced date and two repunched dates.