Now, let's take a look at the coin most
often mistaken for an 1883/2. It is an 1882 with a filled die on the 2.
Here is a picture of the whole coin. For comparison, the same 1883 coin
from the page before is shown again to the right.
Clearly, the coin on the left is not an 1883. The spacing of the logotype is narrow compared to the coin on the right. Here are the dates stacked on top of each other so the difference is readily apparent.
Look closely at the 2 in the date in the upper picture above, and you can see that compared to the 1882 on the previous page, the 2 is pretty mushy looking.
Let's zoom in on that 2 for a closer look so we can get a good look at the mushy 2. The picture on the left is the filled 2. The picture on the right is the clear 2 from the coin on the previous page.
Looking at that filled 2 (microscope photos above), you can imagine that you see the rounded back of a 3 underneath the 2. This coin is commonly sold (by dealers too!) mistakenly as an 1883/2.
Don't pay a premium for the filled 2. They are very common. In my experience, they are more common than the clear 2. They are definitely NOT an 1883/2 overdate variety.
To the left is a (microscope) picture
of a very heavily filled 2. You can imagine that the blobby 2 could be
almost any sort of overdate! But it's not.
Don't get fooled!!!
As you can see in the pictures on this page, the 1882 Filled 2 offered as an 1883/2 overdate claims that the 3 is punched directly over the 2. The true 1883/2 varieties (except the F-07 variety, which looks nothing like the 1882 Filled 2) have the 2 offset to the left of the 3. There are unconfirmed rumors of an 1883/2 variety with the 2 offset to the right of the 3, but when you think about the difference in the logotype widths that doesn't make nearly as much sense. But with shield nickels, nothing is impossible!
Remember:
Lastly, you may also find shield nickels dated 1883 with the wider 1883 logotype that show traces of another digit within the final 3. There are a number of 1883 shield nickels with repunched dates - that is, the final 3 is repunched over another 3. By checking the shape of the repunching carefully, you should be able to see that the curves of the underlying repunch match a 3, not a 2.
Should you find a shield nickel with the wider logotype that you believe has a 3 punched directly over a 2, the author would love to hear from you!
The Infamous 1882 Filled 2 Page 1
All text and images for the 1883/2 Shield Nickel website are copyright (C) 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015 by Howard Spindel