1797 1 Above 1

The ghost of the high 1 is visible above the corrected digit in the date.

The "1 Above 1" variety of the 1797 half cent is a repunched date error. The first numeral 1 of the date was initially punched too high in the die field, above its intended position. Rather than discard the die, the engraver simply re-punched the digit in the correct, lower location. Both impressions survived into production: the errant high 1 and the corrected low 1 are both visible on every coin struck from this die, one above the other.

Die preparation at the early Mint was entirely manual. Each digit, letter, and design element was punched individually into the working die face using hardened steel punches and a hammer. Alignment was judged by eye. Mistakes were inevitable, and the Mint's approach to them was pragmatic: unless the error rendered the die unusable, it went into production. A misplaced digit was cosmetic, not functional, and dies were too expensive and time-consuming to waste.

The 1797 carries a combined mintage of 127,840, a substantial figure by Liberty Cap standards. That total was spread across multiple die pairs, and the 1 Above 1, catalogued as Cohen-1, is the most common variety for the date. Between 400 and 1,200 examples survive depending on planchet thickness, and the coin is findable in grades up through Extremely Fine. Above that, it becomes genuinely elusive. A single MS66 Red-Brown example, the Bushnell-Pogue specimen, sold for $223,250 at Stack's Bowers in February 2016. Only a handful of uncirculated coins are known.

Identification requires examining the first digit of the date. The ghost of the high 1 appears above the correctly positioned 1, creating a doubled impression. On well-preserved coins in Fine or better, the repunching is visible under a standard 5x loupe. On heavily worn examples, the doubling can be faint but is usually still detectable under magnification. Certification services attribute the variety, and a coin confirmed as the 1 Above 1 by PCGS or NGC will specify Cohen-1 on the holder insert.