1857 Flying Eagle Cent Obverse Rim Cud

Description

On this 1857 Flying Eagle Cent, a rim cud runs along the obverse rim above the letters "STATE" in "STATES." The Flying Eagle Cent, designed by James B. Longacre with a motif adapted from the 1856 pattern cent, was produced for circulation only in 1857 and 1858 before being replaced by the Indian Head design due to striking difficulties caused by the eagle's high-relief design opposing the wreath on the opposite side. With approximately 17.45 million cents struck in 1857, the dies endured considerable pressure from the copper-nickel alloy planchets that were harder than the copper large cents they replaced, accelerating die wear and increasing the likelihood of rim fractures. 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. The obverse positioning of this cud above the legend area suggests the fracture initiated at a stress concentration point where the raised letters meet the rim, a common failure location on dies bearing peripheral inscriptions.