PC-1c-1837-01R Pre-Cud

Description

Dating to the Jacksonian era, this pre-cud on the reverse of an 1837 Modified Matron Head Coronet Head Cent documents the early stage of die rim failure on a coin struck nearly two centuries ago. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with no known cross-references (dated 10/1/2015), the "R" suffix identifies the reverse die as the location of the developing crack. Pre-cuds represent the earliest visible stage of the die failure sequence that leads to full cuds: a crack forms at the die rim but the fractured section has not yet separated, showing the fracture line without the raised featureless mass that characterizes a complete cud. The 1837 Modified Matron Head Cent features the Plain Cords, Medium Letters variety, part of the brief Modified Matron Head subtype struck from 1835 to 1839. This was the era when the Philadelphia Mint was the sole operating facility, and large copper cents measuring approximately 28.5mm in diameter were a workhorse denomination in everyday commerce. Die preparation in the 1830s was entirely manual, with dies hand-engraved and hardened through processes that could introduce internal stress points making them susceptible to rim fractures. Pre-cuds on early American copper coinage are scarce in specialized catalogs, and this 1837 example preserves evidence of die failure from the formative years of U.S. Mint operations.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Cross reference: None. 10/1/2015
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References