This is a S-183 Large Cent I acquired today which presents an intriguing question. As much as I try, I can't make it into Obverse 33 which would make it S-184, but would follow the current emissions sequence. Currently, the order of minting of this reverse (EE) is thought to be with Obverse 31 (S-182), Obverse 32 (S-183) and then finally Obverse 33 (S-184). But the die break or series of die chips from the rim to the leaves above D is stronger on this and stronger than on S-184 State IV where it is rarely mentioned but can be seen on the illustration in Breen and I found one on Heritage which shows this break/Series of die chips just beginning to show up. I can only speculate that perhaps Obverse 32 was taken out of retirement briefly after Obverse 33 had been used a while. Perhaps to polish it before it's pairing with Reverse FF. In any event, it is intriguing. Any comments or thoughts would be appreciated.
