This is in a very old PCGS holder with a grade of MS-60 (looks at least 62 to me.) Just got it last weekend. I'm considering sending it to NGC for possible re-grade and attribute label. From another thread, someone said breen listed them as a variety and they're considered "very rare". But they said there's also a "filled" mintmark variety that sometimes confuses people. It said the small "O" would be centered behind the S. Which this appears to be, to me anyway. My pick ups thread got buried too fast in coinchat so I'm hoping to get some input from 'the experts' over here. I wish I could have got a brighter pic but it's hard to get light past the camera and the loupe. I'm lucky to get this photo. It is clear though. There's no glare.
I know there was no 1881-O $5 produced. I'm afraid you don't understand what causes this phenomenon. What caused this is when a reverse die (any year since the rev. dies have no date on them) from the New Orleans mint was shipped to the San Francisco mint to be put into service there. The reverses are obviously the same but the mintmark has to change. So somebody at S.F. would take a punch with an S and punch the S over the O on that die and proceed to use it. The buffalo nickel in my avatar is a MS-66 1938-D/S variety. In that case, a reverse buffalo nickel die was shipped from S.F. to Denver and they punched a D over the S. But the S still shows up behind the D. In the old days, all the dies were produced in Philadelphia which is pretty much the main mint to this day. All the rest are branch mints. They didn't have air mail back then so it was a rather long process to get one made and shipped from the east coast to the west coast. So in a pinch, the branch mints would share dies, as needed. I think the last MM/MM was on a Jefferson nickel in the 50's. They don't do it anymore so don't bother looking for them in your change.
Probably the most dramatic example of this was the 1900 O/CC dollar, minted seven years after the Carson City mint closed.
I find this thread interesting. I just so happen to have an 1881 S $5 piece. I will post it now and elplore the posibilities with you guyzzzz. :smile
I would say any old MS60 coin will grade higher if reslabbed. A grader had a NN article stating that MS60 is not used anymore, and most now are MS62.
