could use some help identifying what this actually is. doesn't match any of the varities in the cherry pickers guide yet there clearly is a raised 7 after the last 8 its visible with the naked eye. here is the best scan i could produce. any help or info is appreciated
I believe it is not a 8/7 from what I can see on the rather small photo, sorry. Welcome to the forum! Jim
bump for the 88/87 is on the lower left side (other side) and is a very small bump. this pic has a small shadow on that spot, could be a bump but can't tell from this photo but I don't think so.
That is for the SNow-1 variety. There is also a 1888 snow-2 (1888/7) that has had several articles written as to its origin, but I think the OP is talking about an unknown variety above. The area circled as a "7" doesn't look to have the shape of a "7" from 1887, the topseems straighter, and the vertical bar isn't right either in my mind, and I can think of no reason why it should be so far to the right, as the 4 digits were held in a holder to impress into the die, so although they can be repunched at different angles, heights, etc., the numerals are usually very close to identical in spacings one from another. If it was a repunch from a 1888 over an 1887 die like die #1, the last 7 would be almost obliterated by the last 8, if it was offset as much as the circled part, you could see remnents of the 188 of the 1887 between the 1888. Hard to explain Jim
you are correct it doesnt look quite like the standard 7 from 1887 but in hand you can see the full 7 which is as thick as the other numbers. it is definitely rotated a bit and higher than the rest. there are no other indications of the 188 in line with the 7. also the last 8 is thicker than the preceding 8's. ill try to capture it with a photo instead of a scan to see if it shows up better
The 1888/7 ( 1888/1887) in the red book is the Snow -1 variety for the date. Snow indicates it was a leftover 1887 die that was repunched with a 1888 4-digit punch, developed a die break and then was removed from service with very few cents produced. It was discovered in 1970. Approx. 30 specimens are known, mostly in the well circulated condition. The 1888/7 Snow-2 variety was discovered in 1990. It has a misplaced "1" in the front pearl ( the top serif of the '1" sticks out like a spear. This variety is interesting in that in 2000, it was shown that most likely it was a 1888/888, but there is an unexplained vertical line in the upper loop of the last "8" that doesn't match. It is either a die scratch/gouge, or it might be part of a "7" after all. At one time there was also a Snow-3, but after consideration , it was withdrew as such. IMO. Here is a photo of my possible 1888/7 S-2. If you look at the pearl in front of the neck, perhaps you can see a protrusion that could be the upper serif of a "1" ( this occurs in other dates in the IHC series also) and the line in the upper loop of the last 8, and a line below the last 8 ( arrow). Jim
