I picked this up today while browsing an online inventory of a coin shop. I have been looking for a better example of one of these for a while. In 3 years of searching coin shops, I have only seen 3 examples, all graded G or worse. It was unattributed, but still cost quite a bit, as its graded EX45. This completes my "Shallow N" variety set for the dates 1870, 1871, and 1872. The 1871 is extremely rare in MS strike, with an estimate of 1% of the coins struck that year with the Shallow N. If counted as part of the complete set, it is the rarest coin in the series (much rarer than the 1877). Im really stoked as this coin has been very elusive. Rick Snow has an EX45 on his website for $1,000 right now, and I paid significantly less than half of that for this one. Ill post better picks when the coin arrives.
In I believe 1870 they made a change to the reverse hub of the Indian head cent the earlier hub is known as the "Shallow N" because the bottom of the N in ONE was shallow and tends to fade out on the coins. The new hub had the N cut more deeply and it creates sharp well defined N's in ONE and CENT. They also changed the serifs as well. Note in the image the shorter serifs on the Bold N coin and the greatly increased distance between the top of the N and the E in ONE. The use of the shallow N and Bold N overlapped through 1872. After that I believe they are all bold N with the exception of 1877 which I believe are all shallow N on the business strikes.
I have no idea, I don't do much in the way of moderns and I don't pay much attention to values. I have a set but I finished it over 30 years ago.
