Hello CT. Its probably nothing but I wanted to check with pro's on this 1883 O. The date is not real prominent and the stars particularly to the left of the date are very faint looking. The second and third star are almost non existent The stars to the right are also not real prominent along the bottom but are better than the ones to the left. There is also a small mark on the ear that resembles an earring. Anything special or just a decent coin? Thanks in advance.
The dies were just worked on, Eric, in an effort to keep them in business. The most apparent sign of that is the thin parallel lines on the reverse sweeping over the mint mark and extending beyond. The weak areas were just filled with a little grease, so didn't take the strike as deeply as they otherwise would have had they been clean. That mark on the lobe is just a coin hit or damage, it's well-documented she left her earrings on the nightstand when she posed for the engraving.
