1796 Draped Bust Cent - Reverse of 1795 - Draped Bust Large Cent (Reverse of 1795) Obverse Cud

Description

An obverse cud die break marks this 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent of the Reverse of 1795 variety, where a section of the die along the rim outside the letters TY in LIBERTY broke away and extended clockwise. The fracture left a raised, featureless area on struck coins—the hallmark of a cud, where the missing die fragment means no design is imparted to that portion of the planchet. The 1796 Draped Bust cent occupies a transitional position in early American coinage, as the Mint used both the older Reverse of 1795 wreath design and the newer Reverse of 1797 configuration during this single year. A cud break on a coin of this vintage adds die-failure documentation to an already historically significant issue. Early copper coinage was prone to die damage because striking the large copper planchets placed heavy stress on hand-engraved dies. A section of the obverse die along the rim outside of the "TY" in "Liberty" and extending some clockwise, broke away, creating a raised, featureless area on the struck coin.