1860 OC-5

1860 OC-5a

Die Pair	3 - D
Date Grid	B / 4-4.5 / VS down
Obverse Die States	c

Estimated Rarity	R7
1, 0 Vertical	VSH, C
Reverse Die States	b

Comments: This re-marriage is the third and final use of Obverse 3 and the second and final use of Reverse D.

Obverse 3
The photo below shows the Obverse 3 attribution grid. Obverse 3 exhibits no notable die markers. The date position should be sufficient to confirm the attribution. However, be careful. The date position is similar to that of Obverse 2.

1860 Obverse 3 attribution grid

Obverse 3 Die States

Perfect die.
Clashed dies. One shield bar shows clearly left of the pole base.
Additional heavy clashing, rotated from the first clash. The first shield bar is surrounded by two additional bars. Another is visible in the drapery.

No later die states have been seen. OC-5a is found only with die state c. The clashed bars that define die state c are shown in the photo below.

1860 Obverse 3 die state c multiple clash marks

Reverse D
Reverse D displays two very minor die markers. They should be sufficient for definitive attribution.

1860 Reverse D die line joins leaves

1860 Reverse D die line in shield

Reverse D Die States

Perfect die.
Light die cracks surround the reverse.

OC-5a is found only with die state b. The one example seen exhibits a counterclockwise die rotation of about 5 degrees.

This re-marriage is extremely rare. We've seen only a single example in the Heritage archives. That coin, in an NGC AU53 holder, was sold in the March 20, 2014 auction of the Donald Bently Collection. We'd normally hesitate to identify a re-marriage based on a single coin, but in this case the bold clash marks make the die state attribution unquestionable.

Photo credits:

Obverse 3: 1860 NGC AU50, from the Osburn-Cushing reference collection.
Obverse 3 Clashing and Reverse D: 1860 NGC AU53, from the Osburn-Cushing reference collection.