1838 Modified Matron Head Coronet Head Cent - CU-1c-1838-05 & 06 Rim Cud

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins as CU-1C-1838-05, this rim cud variety appears on an 1838 Modified Matron Head Coronet Head cent. The Modified Matron Head design, introduced in 1835 as a refinement of the earlier Matron Head type, was struck in pure copper, weighing approximately 10.89 grams with a 28.5 mm diameter and a plain edge. This large copper cent was produced during the Jacksonian era when the United States Mint was expanding operations with new branch mints opening in Charlotte, Dahlonega, and New Orleans. The 1838 date saw a mintage of 6,370,200 cents at the Philadelphia Mint, all struck from the large copper planchets that had been the standard since 1816. A rim cud represents the loss of part of the die's rim gutter: on the coin it appears as a raised interruption in the design rim that tracks the rim's course. On early copper cents, where die steel was less refined and striking pressures were considerable relative to die technology, rim cuds and major die breaks were relatively common compared to later coinage periods. Cuds on Coins lists CU-1c-1838-05 and 06 as one entry, two rim cuds on the same obverse die, cross-referenced as LCC-1838-1; the same coin's interior die break is catalogued separately as IDB-1c-1838-01. The LCC (Large Cent Cuds) reference number connects this variety to the specialized large cent die break cataloging system used by early American copper specialists. The Modified Matron Head design by Christian Gobrecht features Liberty wearing a headband inscribed LIBERTY, surrounded by thirteen stars on the obverse, with a wreath and denomination on the reverse. Die failures on these early cents are studied closely by specialists in the Early American Coppers club, where die state progression and die break documentation form a central part of the collecting discipline.

Cross References

• CU-1C-1838-05; LCC-1838-1, CU-1c-1838-05 & CU-1c-1838-06 Rim Cud

External References