IDB-1c-1838-01 Interior Die Break

Description

Documented by Cuds on Coins as IDB-1c-1838-01, this interior die break appears on an 1838 Coronet Head Large Cent featuring the Modified Matron Head design employed from 1835 through 1839. An interior die break differs from a rim cud in that the fracture occurs entirely within the die face, away from the edge, producing a raised irregular mass surrounded on all sides by normal design elements. The break results from subsurface fatigue where repeated striking pressure nucleates a crack that propagates upward until a section of the die surface separates. On the struck coin, the affected area displays a featureless raised blob obscuring whatever design detail it overlays. The 1838 large cent was struck at Philadelphia in pure copper, as all large cents were throughout their 1793 to 1857 production history. As the sole interior die break cataloged for 1838, this variety provides a singular record of internal die failure on a Modified Matron Head cent from the late 1830s.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Friscomint1793 on ebay
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References