No offense, but my thoughts are that coin is so worn and damaged how could you possibly think that would be true? Again, no offense, but Abe, you've been around here long enough to know better. Damage is just damage. If you look at damage long enough, and especially with enough magnification, you can see just about anything you want to see, but it's still just damage. The chances of you, or I, or anyone finding a completely unknown and new mint error are practically nil, especially on a somewhat damaged coin such as this one. Is it possible? Anythings possible. Is it likely? Not at all. Save your efforts, and your eyes, for looking at coins in much better condition. Continue to learn, as you've been doing, to know what to look for, and then , if and when, you find something new and amazing, you will recognize it for what it is and startle us all. Keep searching, keep posting, keep having fun, don't get discouraged, don't let anyone hurt your feelings. Just keep learning and enjoying this great hobby that we share. Thanks Abe.
Man it would be tough to find a doubled anything on that coin. Hey guys, Im sure it's just my being laxy, but can you send me a link or two to some of the better Web sites, or maybe your favorite site, concerning Doubled Dies. And, if you had the couple bucks that it would take to get a good reference book, which one would you get first? The Red Book? Or is there a better one for a Novice like myself? Please advise. Thank uou, Foo
Thank you for your post Hookman, I appreciate your advice. To answer your question, just holding the coin in hand you can see it has two eyes, so I magnified it closer and it does have two eyes, I thought (posted another pic of the close up). Also the light I used took the color out and magnifying the coin made it look more beat up than it is. I posted the original without the light and magnifier. It's actually in pretty good shape to be 130 years old. But I'll keep it just for my own little collection because it looks like it has two eyes.
No offense Abe but it still doesn't have two eyes. It has marks that you are interpreting as two eyes. There's a term for that. It's called Pareidolia. Please look up the word. It's a very common thing, especially among new coin collectors searching for mint errors.
Hi Foo, how are you? The first book you should get would probably be the Red Book, because it has so much useful information for a new collector, and it's very reasonably priced. Once you start thinking about which direction you want your collecting to go in, then you can think about which reference books you may need to purchase, some of which can be quite expensive. As for links, I'll give you a link to Wexler's, which has a lot of information available. Just read the topic list on the upper left side and choose which topic to read first. My advice is to eventually read all of them. I copy any and every link anyone provides to anyone here on Coin Talk !! I copy the link, send it in a message to myself, then save the message in a folder I call "Coin Tools". That way the links stay fresh and they are organized by date sent, with headings I can read to find what I want. Good Luck ! Wexler's Coins and Die Varieties
Your coin is worn and damaged. The same thing that caused the rim dings and huge gouge in the field and head likely caused the gouge/hit that you think is a second eye.