...because sometimes they aren’t what the dealer thinks. I was at a coin shop today looking through a dealer’s IHCs for varieties. I got to an IHC labeled 1878 that was priced at $21. At a glance, the date looked too small to be a 1878. Upon a closer look, I immediately knew that it was worth well over that. Why? Because it wasn’t actually an 1878. It was an 1872 (the third best date in the series) with a weak 2. I think G06-VG08, net G04 because of a staple scratch. I’ll try to get $60-70 out of it, but if I can’t, I’ll be happy anyway since it fits into my collection. So today’s variety is the 1878 Indian Head Cent, small date, wrong last digit.
Nice! My only similar experience was finding a 1909 VDB that was labeled simply as a 1909. And no it wasn't an "S" so it was not much of a score. Still it pays to be attentive!
