ERROR on Lg. Cent pattern (Judd 149)

Hello all.

I've moved back to Maine from a pretty terrible working situation in Virginia.

I now work at the shop where I started my collecting about 15 years ago.

The founder of the shop gave me a CD from 2004 with some items found in a safe deposit box, unsealed after decades. I guess the initial deposit box owner went off to fight in WWII and never came home - and then his daughter found the items in '04.

The boss gave me permission to duplicate and share these images. There are many, but I'll only post a small fraction as I have time.

This white-metal large cent pattern from 1853 was struck off center. I don't recall exactly how many of the patterns got out and ended up hitting the market, but I really can't see how this would have been able to get out.

 

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Wow, that's something you don't see everyday. Or decade for that matter.

 

Off denomination type 2 blanks get caught in the hopper all the time, it happens more than you think, fun off center.

 

How do we know it's an 1853? Also, aren't hoppers a sort of a bin catching the "struck" coins? What was the process back then? What kind of machinery was there? Steam perhaps? So many questions.

 

That deserves a Sgt. Schultz, "Very Interesting, I see nothing."

 

The hopper is what feeds the planchets into the press.

 

Do you know how they were struck back in those days? Anyone? Bueller, Bueller? . I can imagine how they were made in the 1700's and modern days but not the 1800's? I did find a good video though on the subject......