1873 Indian Cent. Open 3. MS-65 RD (PCGS). This enchanting coin is sharply struck throughout with a full endowment of frosty mint luster. Further adorned with vivid rose-orange color, there is much to recommend this Gem to the discerning Indian cent collector. This is the more frequently encountered date logotype of the circulation strike 1873 Indian cent, the coins struck from dies prepared after Chief Coiner Archibald Louden Snowden lobbied successfully to replace its Close 3 predecessor in a letter to Mint Director Henry R. Linderman on January 18 of that year. Rick Snow (2014) estimates that 9,000,000 of the 11,676,500 circulation strike cents produced in 1873 are of the Open 3 variety. Even so, this issue is scarce by the standards of the type, most examples redeemed and melted without seeing active circulation pursuant to the terms of the Mint Act of 1871. This is a particularly fortunate survivor whose Gem-quality surfaces place it among the finest certified available to todays discerning Indian cent collectors.
