1873 Indian Cent. Close 3. Snow-1a, FS-101. Doubled LIBERTY. MS-64 BN (PCGS).A fantastic condition rarity to represent this visually dramatic, eagerly sought Indian cent variety. Richly toned in mottled steel-brown, golden-olive and deep rose, this coin retains plenty of original medium orange color around the reverse periphery. Sharply struck with a smooth and hard satin texture. A rare find and fleeting bidding opportunity for the advanced collector specializing in this popular small cent series. This is one of more famous and dramatic doubled dies in American numismatics. Examination of the word LIBERTY on the headband shows strong doubling, along with doubling to the eye, feathers and other features. Discovered by Walter Breen about 1957 and first published in <em>Empire Topics</em> in 1958, these have simply not turned up in large numbers, with Mint State coins particularly elusive. A single example with full mint Red in listed in the <em>PCGS Population Report</em>, but by far the majority of survivors are circulated. Desirable in any Mint State grade and particularly so with the strong visual appeal offered here. Of the two known die pairings of the 1873 Doubled LIBERTY cent, Snow-1a is by far the rarer. Both share the same obverse, the reverse of Snow-1a identifiable by the lack of a die lump between the letter C in CENT and the wreath. The present example represents Snow Die Stage B with a crack from the border at 8:30 through the wreath to the border at 5 oclock. Writing in the 2014 reference <em>The Flying Eagle & Indian Cent Attribution Guide, 3rd Edition, Volume 1: 1856-1877</em>, Rick Snow reports that the finest known example of Snow-1a is an AU-50. Obviously the author was not aware of this PCGS MS-64 BN, which is undoubtedly one of the finest known for the die variety.
