An amazing “six-cents” coin, with the obverse of the 1859 Indian cent impressed on the obverse of an 1857 half dime with some of the star, date, and Liberty details visible beneath the Indian type; the reverse, though somewhat flattened, is of the host 1857 half dime.

Called Unique by Pollock in his reference on the series, and no other example has been rumored to exist since the publication of that volume in the 1990s.

At the uspatterns.com website, site director Saul Teichman is of a different opinion: “Although listed as an obverse die trial in silver for the 1859 Indian head cent struck over a struck 1857 half dime planchet, it is more likely a mint error in which the struck half dime ended up on top of blank cent planchet resulting in the striking seen above [the present coin is pictured at the website]. The half dime’s date can be seen in the field to the left of the Indian’s face under the STA in STATES.”

Indeed, the PCGS holder states “Mint Error.” A known entity that has been around for some time; perhaps Judd considered this a piece to be a “Mint Error,” and thus did not list it in his seminal work the pattern series.

Anyway you slice it, the present specimen is unique. PCGS Population: 1; no others certified in any grade.

Seavey, Parmelee Collection; Superior’s February 1974, Ruby Collection Lot 1988A; Bowers & Merena, April 1986 Lot 2209.

The Coin is being offered at Auction in Stack’s sale of “The Keusch, Snow & Del Zorro Collections” to be held on November 18-19 in Baltimore, MD.