CU-1c-1796-01R Rim Cud

Description

Remarkably scarce as both a die variety and a date, this rim cud appears on the 1796 Draped Bust Cent — one of the most storied issues in early American numismatics. Cataloged as CU-1c-1796-01R, the variety occurs on the famous LIHERTY error, where the engraver cut the letter B as an H in the LIBERTY inscription, producing the distinctive misspelling that has fascinated collectors for over two centuries. Robert Scot designed the Draped Bust obverse, depicting Liberty with flowing hair, a motif adapted from a Gilbert Stuart drawing. The Philadelphia Mint produced only 363,375 cents across all die pairs in 1796, a tiny figure by later standards that renders any documented die variety from this date exceedingly difficult to locate. The "R" suffix denotes a reverse rim cud, meaning the die fracture occurred on the reverse die rather than the obverse. Finding a cud on any 18th-century American copper is notable — these coins were struck on hand-operated screw presses at far lower speeds than later machinery, and surviving examples with identifiable die breaks provide direct evidence of the mechanical limits even slow-speed striking imposed on early Mint tooling.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Friscomint1793 on eBay
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References