1901-S 1 Over 0-S

The 1901/0-S is a late-series overdate from the San Francisco Mint, in which the final digit "1" of the date was punched over an underlying "0" left from a die originally prepared for the 1900 issue. Cherrypickers' Guide lists the variety as FS-302. In the Coronet era the four digits of the date were impressed into each working die individually with steel logotype punches before the die was hardened, and the Engraving Department occasionally salvaged blank-faced 1900 dies by overpunching the new year onto them. On surviving examples the underlying 0 shows as a curved trace inside the lower loop of the 1 and along its right flank.

Variety attribution requires a 5x to 10x loupe focused on the last digit of the date. The remnant 0 is most clearly preserved on coins in Fine and better grades, where the date detail has not yet flattened from circulation wear. Alongside the overdate, examiners should run the standard authentication checks for an 1901-S half eagle: weight of 8.359 grams, diameter of 21.6 millimeters, planchet of 90 percent gold and 10 percent copper, and a reeded edge. The S mintmark sits below the eagle on the reverse and should show the rounded serifs San Francisco used in this period. Both PCGS and NGC attribute the variety on the holder when present, and a certified label is the safest way to lock in the FS-302 designation rather than relying on a raw seller's claim.

The 1901-S half eagle as a date is one of the more common San Francisco issues of the early twentieth century, with a combined mintage of 3,648,000 across all 1901-S varieties. Population data for the FS-302 overdate is not separated cleanly in the major price guides, but auction appearances are infrequent enough that specialists treat it as a scarce variety. Buyers tend to be Cherrypickers' Guide enthusiasts and Liberty half eagle die-variety collectors, with prices running modestly above the standard date in lower circulated grades and climbing more sharply through About Uncirculated and Mint State. For the full arc of the design see our Liberty Head Half Eagle series history.