idk who mentioned the die break, but im sure they meant to say cud. The cud on the rim would be worn away at this stage. At the base of the 8 and towards the top, i see what could very well be a underlying 7. Thanks for all your time guys
http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NTYyWDc1MA==/z/QDMAAOSwv0tVNdfg/$_12.JPG this is one that was graded and certified, just sold on sleezbay
I'll say it again. There is no cud and there is no underlying "7"! If there was a cud, worn away or not, you would see a deformation along the rim extending into the field. The odd mark you think you see at the bottom of the "8" is too far to the left to be the bottom of the "7". The die break was mentioned by @ken454 because that happens to be a diagnostic (marker) for the "8 over 7" IHC. Chris
Have you bothered to consider date positions? If need be, do a photo overlay (while I've not used them and cannot say for sure, perhaps one of the free Photoshop knockoffs can be used if you do not already have a capable program). You are correct in that low grade examples of this variety have been identified, but with coins in similar conditions to yours, more often than not whatever anomaly seen was caused circulation (wear, hits, dings, gunk, etc), damage, corrosion, etc as opposed to being the overdate. Therefore, you're better off focusing on what is rather than what remotely could be.
the arrow to the right is what made me think it was a 1888/7. looking close at the one at the left, looks like the top half a of a circle bisecting the lower part of the 8. This coin is still on my desk, it baffles me.
Here are some of one of mine. I like the 'spike' in the front bead of a misplaced '1' as an indicator. I believe this is the FS-010.7 Snow S-2.
Something that will quickly eliminate many negatives on the Snow-1 1888/7 is the position of the date--where the "1" lines up with the bust. And it's easy for dirt or wear to trip you up--especially if you're looking at hundreds of 1888s at one sitting. On some coins, the nub under the 8 is stronger than others, so it's good to first eliminate those coins which cannot be the Snow-1. Just my advice from looking for this overdate (but not finding one yet, if ever).