1796 Draped Bust Large Cent (Reverse of 1795) Reverse Split Die

Description

On the reverse of this 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent — struck to the Reverse of 1795 die pairing — two die cracks have propagated completely from rim to rim, qualifying this piece as a full split die, one of the most dramatic progressive die failure types in American coinage. A split die crack spans the entire diameter of the coin face, leaving a raised ridge of metal where the fractured die separated during striking. The first crack originates just counter-clockwise of the fraction 1/100 and travels through "RICA" of AMERICA before reaching the rim between "E" and "R." A second crack follows a parallel path. The 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent is a transitional issue; Robert Scot's design replaced the Liberty Cap type and this year employed both the Reverse of 1795 and the newer Reverse of 1797. Die failures of this magnitude on early large cents — massive hand-engraved copper coins produced under demanding conditions at the Philadelphia Mint — are genuinely scarce and highly sought by collectors of early American copper. A die crack extends completely across the reverse die from rim to rim, leaving a raised line spanning the full diameter of the coin.

Attribution History

• Discovered by NumisDexDealer