That is one cool coin. I have to wonder how this even happened. It's not like they were flying through some automated machine like they are today.
Very interesting piece. The coin is a 1795 C-6, but I'm fairly sure the first strike on the reverse is NOT from a C-6. C-6 used rev D (per the Breen book) and this coin matches that, but the undertype is not Rev D It looks to me like Rev A which would make this a C-6 struck over a C-2.
Ok Conder... Here us my theory... I wanted to see what you thought. Is this one of the die parings that were struck on spoiled or cut down planchets?? My thought is that this coin was mis struck and then discarded only later to be utilized again when planchets ran low.
That's what I would think. It would be interesting to know the weight. Was the off-center C-2 cut down to make the planchet round again before the C-6 strike?(low weight) Or was the C-2 strike soft enough to not stretch out the planchet.(full weight)
Ok... So it gets a little more interesting... I noticed on the edge of the coin... that these 3 letters appear in the little flat spot seen on the flat spot at 5 on the obverse and 1 on the reverse... "HUN"
OK that tells me 1 they did cut the mistrike down and 2 my attribution of the undertype is wrong. It isn't struck on an off-centered C-2, it is struck on an off-centered lettered edge C-1 or C-2a (I should have asked about whether it had a lettered edge. There is only one known C-2, actually C-2b struck on a plain edge planchet. C-2a normally comes on a lettered edge planchet.) Unfortunately I don't see any trace of the O/C obverse so I can't tell which variety the undertype was. The C-1 and C-2a were struck in Oct and Dec of 1795, the C-6 was struck between Mar 12 and June 8 1796
This guy in now in an NGC details holder. http://www.ngccoin.com/certlookup/index.aspx?CertNumber=2610712-001
