CU-1C-1804-01A Cud

Description

This rim cud on the 1804 Draped Bust Cent represents one of the earliest dated U.S. coin varieties in the Cuds on Coins catalog, documenting a major die rim failure on a coin struck during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. Cross-referenced under its own designation CU-1C-1804-01A, this cud formed when a section of the die rim fractured and separated, leaving a cavity that filled with copper during striking and produced a raised, featureless blob at the coin's edge. Robert Scot's Draped Bust design, depicting Liberty with flowing hair and an allegorical draping, was produced on large copper cent planchets that were hand-fed into screw-type coining presses — a primitive process compared to modern automated minting. The 1804 Draped Bust Cent series is part of the broader 1796-1807 production run, during which the Philadelphia Mint (the only operating facility at the time) struck large cents as a cornerstone of everyday commerce. Die technology in the early nineteenth century relied on hand-cut dies that were individually produced by engravers, and the soft iron die blanks (hardened by case-hardening rather than modern alloy metallurgy) were particularly susceptible to rim fractures under the repeated stress of striking the large, heavy copper planchets. The "01A" suffix indicates this is a sub-state or variant of the first documented cud for the 1804 cent, suggesting researchers identified multiple stages or a die state progression associated with this particular rim break event.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Friscomint1793 on eBay
• CU-1C-1804-01A
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References