1899 o barber half shifted mint plus small o

[JonJ]

I was recently at a show in Wausau and found an interesting far right shifted mintmark that appears smaller than normal and reversed.

[JKK]

Supposed to be bottom center, right? Makes me think it's not a mint mark, but the impact of some sharp, hard object.

[JonJ]

Center, but I have seen them shifted slightly before to left or right but not this far. I viewed it under a 10x loupe and it doesn't appear to have been impacted. Thanks

[Just Bob]

I realize that the fact that the mint marks were punched into the working die by hand means that they are not always in the exact same spot, but that guy would have had to have been completely soused to miss the mark by that much. That has to be post mint damage of some sort. I think JKK's explanation is probably closer to reality than the drunken mint worker theory. (Which, I realize was my idea, not yours)

[Mohawk]

I think JKK is right on as well.....some sort of damage.  It's possible that the person who damaged the coin may have been trying to create the appearance of a wildly misplaced mint mark.  I've seen people do weirder things to coins in trying to create the appearance of an error or variety.

[JKK]

It would be useful to be able to look at the other side to see if there were deformation, but since we weren't provided both sides of the coin, that's not possible. If there had been some powerful post-mint piercing impact, it would probably be enough to raise a bump on the obverse.

[JonJ]

Sure I will upload the obverse.  I appreciate the feedback.

[Just Bob]

Was the coin being sold as a New Orleans Mint coin?

[JonJ]

I purchased it as an 1899 o barber in vg for $25. Yes, New Orleans 

[Crawtomatic]

It looks like an "O" but it's not the shape & size of the New Orleans mint mark used for 1899 half dollars.  I find it odd that it was being sold as a New Orleans mint item at a show.  If it were an antique mall or flea market then yeah, that kind of thing is par for the course.

Here's the "O" mint mark cut from a stock photo of the New Orleans 1899 half dollar for comparison.  Poor resolution, but shape of the font wouldn't differ.

[JonJ]

Yes, I did say that the mintmark appeared smaller than normal (see 1899 o quarter mm) it appears more like the quarter mm or 1899 Morgan micro o.  It could be post mint , I really would like to know. From what I have heard so far it's a fugazi.

[BipolarBaby]

I can say with 100% certainty that is not a new orleans mint barber. 

[JKK]

It's not just that it's smaller and mislocated for a MM. It's that it's in a different typeface. It doesn't have the thick sides. Why someone would make it is intriguing, but to think it's a genuine O mint mark requires an excessive level of speculation.

[DWLange]

Partial piercings are fairly common on old silver coins. It was one way to test for genuineness, as a lead counterfeit could be dented far more easily than a real coin. The raised circle is a result of metal being displaced outward and upward.

[JonJ]

Glad I got to hear. I have a close up photo and believe someone messed with coin. See this close up.