1855 Slanted 55 Proof

The 1855 Slanted 55 proof large cent was struck from the same die that produced the slanted-date circulation strikes, with the dies polished to a mirror finish for proof production. The slant of the two 5s in the date is preserved in sharp relief on the proof, making the variety diagnostic easier to see than on a worn circulation coin. By 1855, the Mint was producing proof coins with increasing regularity, and the collector base had grown enough to support small but predictable demand.

The 1855 proof was struck just two years before Congress abolished the large cent denomination. Mint Director James Ross Snowden, who took office in 1853, was actively cultivating relationships with collectors and would soon formalize the Mint's proof coin program. The 1855 Slanted 55 proof belongs to the final chapter of large cent proof production, when the coins were being made for a hobby that was growing even as the denomination itself was dying. Surviving examples are rare and represent one of the last opportunities to own a proof large cent from before the series ended.