Good afternoon! Here is one of my latest acquisitions. It is an 1816 large cent with a 90-degree rotated reverse. I think it is an N6 variety. I paid $30 for it at a local coin shop. How much would you price it? Lastly, are those rim cuds on the obverse? Enjoy!
Look at N-3. Plus the reverse leaf lettering does not seem to line up - and it can be tough on these worn coins. I am not exactly sure what a good price for this coin would be.
Shesh - everybody knows you can't call Sherlock Holmes. He is still in re-hab. But you can use sherlockgpt and get an answer like this: It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data, but the mechanics of the case are, in fact, elementary. You see, Watson, though both faces of the coin were struck at one and the exact sameinstantly, the phenomenon of the rotated die is a problem of alignment, not of timing. The anomaly occurs not during the strike, but through the frailty of the apparatus or the carelessness of the hands that set it. Consider the facts, my dear fellow: I. The Human Element The steel cylinders containing the designs—the dies—are perfectly round. When the pressman secures them into the machinery, he must align the upper and lower faces with precision. If the fellow is careless, or if the alignment notches upon the shank were ground inaccurately by the machinist, the dies are locked in crookedly from the very outset. Thus, every coin produced from that hour forward bears a stable and unvarying rotation. II. The Vibrations of the Engine The mechanical forces exerted by the screw presses of 1816 were immense, shaking the very foundations of the Philadelphia Mint. The dies were held fast by set screws. Now, observe the consequence of constant vibration: the screws loosen. The upper die—the hammer, as they call it—begins to shift and spin ever so slightly within its recess with each successive blow. This produces a dynamic rotation, wherein coins struck minutes apart exhibit entirely different degrees of displacement. III. The Official Indifference A minor deviation of fifteen or twenty degrees was frequently overlooked by the inspectors of the era, who valued quantity over absolute precision. The game is afoot! Tell me, Watson: Do you hold an 1816 copper cent in your possession? When you invert it, by how many degrees does the reverse design stray from the vertical? With these details, we may deduce whether you possess a common variant or a singular rarity.”
Crap - I forgot to say that the obverse rim cud looks exactly like what I see on mutliple examples of N-3 at heritage.
