I am so terrible at identifying such things…any input would help. I also have an 1898 with a goofy possible overdate on the 9…anything there? Thanks!
I tried to look up open vs. closed 3, and PCGS has an image comparing the two, but the shot of the open 3 is worthless -- it was apparently upscaled from an old photo, and the compression artifacts are so bad that it's nearly impossible to tell what the digit actually looks like. Does anybody have a good, clear comparison photo showing both?
Based on that photo, though, I've got to say OP's coin doesn't really resemble either one. Rather, it seems more different from both than the Open and Close are from each other. I give up.
That’s exactly how I felt…my coin doesn’t seem to match either exactly. Gun to my head, I’d say open…luckily I’m not under such pressure.
I may have an explanation for your confusion. Snow on Page 423 discussing the S1 die marriage says: "The S1 die is the most interesting variety with bold repunching on the 3 which closes the digit. At first glance it looks like a Close 3." So your coin may be the Open 3 S1 with this unique circumstance. I haven't attempted to attribute your coin to verify that it is the S1. But the position of the digits in the date seem to match the S1. Take a look under a glass to verify the repunching of 7 and 3, most apparent at the top of the digits. If the S1, Snow gives it a 2 Star rating which he defines as "Worthy of a significant premium, probably between 2X and 3X." He also says: "This is a popular variety and quite scarce."
It is a fun little incomplete display board that was part of a collection I purchased yesterday. Maybe I’ll post some of the nicer looking coins in this thread since there seem to be some IHC enthusiasts looking in. I, for one, love the type. The detail on the obverse is one of my favorites. I have a long way to go in terms of identifying Snow varieties though!
I’m about to post a fresh thread with photos of the better coins from the collection. Feel free to mosey over and take a look!