Indian Head Cent 1873 Open 3 G-VG

During the Panic of 1873, wages fell dramatically and many lost their jobs. European investors withdrew their money from the United States causing further tightening of the economy. Stocks also fell due to this. Coupled with bad weather causing very poor harvests for the year, this would be by many accounts the largest depression until the Great Depression of the 1930’s. The poor economic conditions due to the depression would last until 1877.

The Open 3 style die was created shortly after the original Close 3 die. The primary difference was the balls at the ends of the three. For the Open 3 style, the balls were made smaller. Other than this, the two styles are virtually the same. Liberty still graces the obverse of the coin while she is protected by the strong federal shield at 12:00 on the reverse. It is thought that the Open 3 and Closed 3 styles were minted at the same time making it impossible to know how many of each were made. It is estimated that around 9,000,000 Open 3 1873 Indian Cents were made. This year largely avoided being melted, so although it is a rarer date, it is significantly easier to find than earlier years. However, because they avoided the melting pot, the coins are mostly found in well circulated conditions.

The Open 3 1873 Indian Head cent was actually not made into a proof. This die was made after the original Closed 3 die. Therefore, proofs for this year only come as Closed 3. There is a slight double die variety. There is a slight double in the letter L in “Liberty”. Perhaps the more popular variety is a repunched date. The 3 in “1873” is repunched in a way that the cent looks like a Closed 3 style die. This is due only to the multiple threes.

• Denomination: Cent
• Year: 1873
• Diameter: 19mm
• Mint Mark: N/A
• Thickness: 1.5mm
• Grade: Ungraded