CU-1C-1838-03 Rim Cud

Description

Documented by Cuds on Coins as CU-1C-1838-03, this rim cud on the 1838 Modified Matron Head large cent represents a die failure from the early steam-press era of American coinage, when die steel quality and manufacturing tolerances were markedly different from modern standards. The Modified Matron Head design, introduced by Christian Gobrecht in 1835 and used through 1839, refined the earlier Matron Head portrait with a more delicate rendering of Liberty's features and hair arrangement on the obverse, while the reverse maintained the standard wreath-and-denomination layout. Die breaks were considerably more common on early copper cents than on later issues: the hand-forged die steel of the 1830s was less uniform in hardness and grain structure than twentieth-century tool steels, and the striking pressures required to fully bring up the design on the large 28.5mm copper planchet placed enormous stress on these imperfect dies. The 1838 cent was produced at the Philadelphia Mint — the only operating facility at that time — and die breaks on this date can provide insights into the specific die shop practices of the era. Three separate cuds have been cataloged for the 1838 Modified Matron Head cent (this being the third), indicating that die failures were frequent enough on this date to produce multiple collectible break varieties. Early copper cent collectors, who constitute one of the most dedicated and knowledgeable specialty groups in American numismatics, value cuds both as error varieties and as evidence of the production conditions at the Philadelphia Mint during the Jacksonian era.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Friscomint1793 on eBay
• CU-1C-1838-03
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References