This is perhaps the best case of pareidolia I have ever seen. It is almost unbelievable that what you think you see (a misplaced "S" mintmark) actually is not a mintmark at all. Take a look at the reverse of this 1855 Seated Liberty 10 cent piece. If you look below the left ribbon string, you would swear you see a misplaced "S" mintmark. Now here is a closeup, and below it is what an "S" mint mark looks like for this series. Notice the letter "S" for both looks exactly the same. It's roughly the same size, the same type of serif, the same size soop, the same space around the curves, and is even perfectly horizontal. The only difference is the location. However, the "phantom" S is not a mintmark. It is a contact mark that miraculously looks like an "S". In fact, there were none minted in San Francisco until 1856 for this series. Very convincing, but not a mintmark error. But a perfect example of coin Pareidolia. ~Joe. C.
The coin is actually on @Fred Weinberg site as a10% off-center. Awesome piece, hopefully mine before Christmas!
What fun is it if you don't throw a tantrum insisting it's actually a mintmark and not so slyly suggesting you're due to a significant windfall?
Jcro's now been a member too long to do that. That's a privilege reserved only for the newest of members. What's it called? . . . initiation? Yeah, that's it . . . when they initiate us.
Just pulling his leg a bit since he knows where I'm coming from and isn't going to be triggered by a little lighthearted fun. I can think of a less flattering word for what they do to us...
The first few years, the "S" was above the ribbon and it varied in shape. It did not look like this from 1856-1860.
