Indian Head Cent--concaved reverse, mint made ?

Came across this indian head cent that has the complete out line of the indian concaved on the
reverse side and raised quite a bit on the obverse. there is also a date on the reverse. Anyone
ever seen one like it or have any idea what this might be?

 

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Yes I have seen this before. The cent was made into a component for jewelry of some sort. Probably as a stud on a belt. It is definitely PMD. This type of alteration to the coin is common in Native American jewelry from the early 1900's.

Gene

 

Not mint made. And I dont know what its called but people do this a lot with kennedy halfs and such where they make the face pop out. Value: a few bucks to the right person

 

Thanks for the info, Makes sense as the coin is 1904 and the stamp on the
reverse say's---AT. AUG 11 1908. Forgive my ignorance I'm still on the learning
curve. What dose PMD stand for?

 

Post Mint Damage.

 

It's called a pop-out coin patt. The "---AT. AUG 11 1908" probably indicates the date of a patent relating to the design or the process used to make it. We had a similiar coin on CT just a few weeks ago which also has a patent date on it (different than this one). These are very interesting coins to have in a collection.

Bruce

 

The proper term is repousse, the embossing of a raised image by pressing an image in from behind. Embossing or pop-out is about as good.

 

I like your word much better than pop-out Conder. It gives the whole process a touch of elegance. :smile

Bruce

 

Thanks all, It's quite interesting that this may be a patent. Wonder if I could ever find out who "AT." was. If it's all the same, I think I'll stick wil pop-out (a little
easier on the tounge)

 

I was thinking that there was a "P" before the "AT" and would be an abbreviation for the word "Patent". Do you see any evidence of another letter?

Bruce

 

I dont see any sign of a "P" Bruce, but I did figure out how to get a close up for you to look at

 

I don't see any trace of another letter patt, but there's room enough to the left of the "A" for one that's just not visible. I would be willing to bet there's a "P" there where the space is. Also, is that date 1908 or 1903? It looks more like a 3 to me. I did a patent search for any issued on Aug. 11, 1908 that might protect a process or design responsible for the pop-out. I didn't find any, so think I'll check for anything issued in 1903.

Bruce

 

Thanks for checking Bruce, I will send a couple of pic's. In it I can make
out a "4" which led me to belive it is from 1904 thats why I thought the date on the reverse was 1908 of course I could be wrong

 

I checked patent records for those issued on August 11, 1903 and think I've come up with something interesting. Patent #735,709 was issued to Herman Casler of Canastota, Madison County, NY for an "Embossing or Punching Machine" on that date. It was capable of punching letters or designs in metal, paper, etc. so its capabilities would apparently enable it to punch this coin. Conder used the term "embossing" in post #7 this thread which ads validity to this being the invention referred to by the patent date. Interestingly, Herman assigned his invention to one Fannie E. Casler (his wife?), so she was probably the one who actually made this piece. The date of the coin does appear to be 1904, but even though the patent was issued the year before the machine was probably used for a number of years after its invention. It looks like there's a small hole punched at the top of the coin, so it was probably used on some type of bracelet, necklace or other piece of jewelry. Very interesting patt, and thanks for posting it.

Bruce

 

Wow, those are some amazing findings Bruce. I will be copying your findings and keeping them with the coin. It will make for some good conversation. I can pretty much place the coin in VA. for the last 40 or so years before moving it out to Phx. AZ where I now reside. Wonder if the Caslers (or thier desendants) are still in NY. and what they would think knowing one of thier pieces of "jewlery" are
still around after 107 years. Thanks again (seveal hundered more to go thru)
Pat

 

Really?

Are you sure? :rollling:

 

It's my pleasure Pat, I enjoy the challenge of researching numismatic issues that interest me. Looking forward to seeing more of what you have.

Bruce

 

There have been a lot of these made over the years from several types of coins. This one looks like the op coin.

I actually collect these. This is the first one I ever found. There is a thread here if I can find it

 

Thanks for solidifying Bruces findings Larry. That is one nice looking coin.Wish mine looked that good.....Pat

 

Beautiful pop-out Larry...and on a Liberty Head Nickel no less.There is a thread on these coins like you said, but haven't found it either.

Bruce