1858 Flying Eagle Cent - Small Letters - Flying Eagle Cent (Small Letters) Reverse Rim Cud (2 to 5 o'clock)

Description

Spanning a substantial arc from the 2 o'clock to 5 o'clock position on the reverse, this rim cud on an 1858 Flying Eagle Cent in the Small Letters variety preserves evidence of die failure. The Flying Eagle Cent was produced for regular circulation in only two years — 1857 and 1858 — before being replaced by the Indian Head design in 1859. A rim cud of this length, covering roughly a quarter of the reverse rim, represents the loss of a long stretch 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 "Small Letters" designation distinguishes this from the Large Letters variety of the 1858 Flying Eagle Cent — two obverse lettering styles that are collected separately. Flying Eagle Cents were struck on thick copper-nickel planchets weighing 4.67 grams at 19mm diameter, and the hardness of this alloy placed significant stress on dies during production, accelerating wear and rim failure. The 1858 Flying Eagle Cent had a mintage of approximately 24.6 million pieces across both letter varieties, all struck at the Philadelphia Mint. This cud variety documents the extreme die deterioration that occurred during the early years of small cent production at the Philadelphia facility.