1888 1c MS BN

1888 Cent Production: Production remained steady this year. One of the dies had its date repunched over an 1887 die (see 1888, 8 Over 7).

Survivability: There was no incentive for collectors to save this date, so most of the issue went into circulation and remained there until well worn.

Collecting Challenges: This date comes with an average strike, so it would be beneficial to take extra time to find a well-struck example. As with all other later-date Indian Head cents, average-quality specimens are widely available. You should make the extra effort to locate an example with a superior strike.

Collecting Circulated Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for circulated coins is AU-50. Select problem-free examples with exceptional eye appeal.

Collecting Mint State Pieces: The optimal collecting grade for Mint State coins is MS-64RB. The rarity of higher-grade Indian Head cents of this era depends on the chance survival of small groups of choice coins. If no original rolls are found then the date becomes rarer in higher grades. Likely, that is what happened to this date. True gems are very tough to find, regardless of the color designation. Full red examples are, of course, even tougher. This date will require extra effort to find nice, high-grade coins.

Collecting Proof Issues: Although this is one of the higher-mintage Proof dates, it remains slightly elusive in high grades. This date is very tough in full red, especially in gem. Cameos are very rare. Some of these come with golden-tan planchets. Most pieces are mostly brown or totally brown. Occasionally, some of these coins graded with the BN (for brown) color designation have vivid blue and purple colors. These are highly desired by collectors. Prices vary widely for these vividly toned coins. Sometimes, in an auction setting, prices for outstanding specimens can skyrocket to many multiples of the prices the typical BN designation warrants.

Many coins of this year are singly struck. This causes the coins to be less than what we expect for Proof issues of the era. Sometimes the feather tips or some of the denticles may show weakness, and rough planchet marks might not get totally struck out. The edge, which is usually sharp, will be highly beveled on singly struck coins. Sometimes singly struck examples with medium mirrors might be mistaken for prooflike circulation-strike coins. Typ ically, Proofs are double struck at slower speeds to bring out the design to its fullest. This takes time, and one might not be too surprised if the Mint, when producing 4,000+ coins, introduced some time-saving measure at the expense of quality. Perhaps a Mint employee at the time asked himself, “Who would care; after all, they are only pennies!”

Aside from the ultra-rare 1888/7 Snow-1, the top variety is the 1888 Snow-2, which is known to numismatists as 1888/7 Die #2, FF 010.7. Noted numismatic author Bill Fivaz discovered the variety in July 1990. It was confirmed at the time and included in my Flying Eagle and Indian Cents (1992) as 1888 Snow-2.

In 2000 the overdate status was questioned by one of 1888/888, Snow-2 the top collector-specialists, Dr. Tim Larson, in the pages of Longacre’s Ledger (the publication of the Fly-In Club, the specialty club devoted to this series). Tim convincingly questioned the status of the overdate using overlay photos. It appears that the overdate is most likely just a repunched date: 1888/888. There is a vertical line

in the upper loop of the 8 on this variety, and that did not match up to date overlays that Tim prepared. He suggested that the line was a die scratch. This is still a neat variety with a misplaced digit in the first pearl. Because overdates carry a much higher premium, the label should be placed only on varieties that can be certainly shown to be overdates. (See “1888/7 S2—Is it an Overdate?”, Tim Larson, Longacre’s Ledger, Vol. 10.2, June 2000.)

An example of the 1888 Snow-2 cent is known struck in copper-nickel! The coin is graded by PCGS as a nickel die trial. The coin showed up in 1997 during the ANA Summer Seminar, which I happened to be attending as an instructor. (This is a very worthwhile way to spend a week in the cool Colorado summer sun.) After finishing my class, I sat in with my good friends, J.P. Martin and Bob Campbell, who were teaching the Counterfeit Detection class. They were demonstrating the use of the scanning electron microscope to extract alloy information of coins using x-ray spectroscopy. One of the coins to be tested was an 1888 cent that looked like it was copper-nickel. Sure enough, it tested 25% nickel and 75% copper. After the test I examined the coin and discovered the variety. Everyone was thrilled—and so, I guess, was the owner. Unfortunately the ANA did not tell the owner about the variety. He discovered it independently later. I subsequently found out that East Coast dealer George Maroskos owned the coin. He offered it to me but I declined at the time. I asked to photograph it, and it was put on the cover of Longacre’s Ledger, Vol. 9.3, August 1999.

The question remains: how did this coin come to be? The firm of Joseph Wharton sold both three-cent and five-cent nickel planchets to the Mint, along with cent planchets. Perhaps three-cent nickel stock was put in the cent blanking press and a few of these odd planchets found their way to the cent press just when the 1888 Snow-2 pieces were being struck. If this is the case, then perhaps there are other pieces yet to be discovered! Greysheet Catalog ID (GSIDSM) is the universal standard for cataloging and identification of U.S. and World Coins and Bank