Numista says that the overdate exists. Felix Ekberg from www.myntinfo.se has documented it and I have taken his findings and I have my doubts about 3 over 8. Don't forget that the 1888 is five years LATER than 1883. SCWC doesn't mention this overdate, but be that as it might be. For sure, there's something UNDER the 3, but what?
Yes, you can see some part of an 8 (the yellow lines), but how does that part within the green oval fits in an 8 together with the yellow lines? There's obviously something there but I have no idea what. Like Ole said: 3/something.
If it was an overdate it should be 83 over 78 but I don't see anything under the 8. On overdate 83 over 88 would be absurd, an overdate is always over a previous date.
I've tried to re-photograph both versions of this coin, the regular 1883 and the one I believe shows a 3 over 8. I made a GIF where the two coins alternate quickly. In my opinion, you can clearly see traces of what looks like an 8 underneath the 3. Here it is:
I also made another GIF where I placed a transparent 8 over the 3 to show how the remaining elements line up. Most of the underdigit seems to match pretty well. Here’s that one:
Hope this helps the discussion a bit :) By the way, I noticed that the GIFs appear quite small when I upload them here. If anyone knows how to make them show larger in a forum post, I’d be happy to try that.
By the way, I noticed that the GIFs appear quite small when I upload them here. If anyone knows how to make them show larger in a forum post, I’d be happy to try that.
Hi, images appear as a thumbnail in the post.
If you click on it, the full size image will appear in an overlay.
Jamais l'or n'a perdu la plus petite occasion de se montrer stupide. -Balzac
By the way, I noticed that the GIFs appear quite small when I upload them here. If anyone knows how to make them show larger in a forum post, I’d be happy to try that.
Hi, images appear as a thumbnail in the post.
If you click on it, the full size image will appear in an overlay.
I've never seen an overdate that wasn't over a previous year. An overdate 1883 over 1888 makes no sense at all. An overdate 1883 over 1878 would make sense but there's absolutely no trace of a 7 under the first 8.
