1857 Flying Eagle Cent Reverse Rim Cud (12 to 1 o'clock)

Description

Spanning from the 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock position on the reverse, this rim cud on an 1857 Flying Eagle Cent preserves a die failure from the Flying Eagle cent series. 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 location from 12 to 1 o'clock on the reverse places this cud near the top of the wreath design that encircles the denomination on Longacre's small cent. The Flying Eagle Cent, struck only from 1856 through 1858, was the United States Mint's first small-format cent — replacing the unwieldy large copper cents that had been produced since 1793. The copper-nickel composition (88% copper, 12% nickel) presented significant striking challenges, as the hard alloy accelerated die wear and increased the mechanical stresses that lead to rim fractures.