CU-1C-1803-02R Cud

Description

Second reverse cud documented on the 1803 Draped Bust Cent with Small Date and Large Fraction, CU-1C-1803-02R provides further evidence of die failure patterns characteristic of early nineteenth-century coinage production. Where the related 01R records the first cataloged reverse break on this die variety, 02R documents a separate fracture event — either on the same die at a different location or on a different reverse die paired with the Small Date, Large Fraction obverse. Early Mint dies were hand-engraved and hardened through techniques far less refined than modern metallurgical processes, and the large cent planchet — roughly 28 millimeters of copper requiring substantial striking force — placed enormous stress on each die impression. Multiple cataloged cuds on a single die variety suggest that the softer die steel of the Federal period fractured with some regularity, particularly along rim sections where the die's edge was thinnest and most vulnerable to lateral forces during striking. Collectors of early American coppers prize cud varieties as tangible artifacts of the Mint's evolving die technology, where each break tells a story of mechanical limits tested and exceeded.

Attribution History

• Discovered by American_Rarities on eBay
• CU-1C-1803-02R
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References