RCD-1c-1858-01 Retained Cud

Description

Sole retained cud documented for the 1858 Flying Eagle cent with Large Letters variety, RCD-1c-1858-01 records a die rim fracture on the short-lived cent design that served as the bridge between the large copper cents and the small Indian Head cents. The Flying Eagle cent, designed by James B. Longacre and produced only from 1857 to 1858, introduced the small cent format (19mm diameter) and the copper-nickel alloy that would continue through the early Indian Head cent years. Philadelphia struck approximately 24.6 million Flying Eagle cents in 1858, divided between the Large Letters and Small Letters varieties that are distinguished by the size of the AMERICA inscription on the obverse wreath. The copper-nickel composition — 88% copper and 12% nickel — presented significant striking challenges, as the alloy's hardness required greater press force than the soft copper used for the preceding large cents, accelerating die wear and increasing the frequency of die failures. Longacre's design features the flying eagle on the obverse and a wreath enclosing ONE CENT on the reverse, with the rim area susceptible to the outward metal flow pressures that initiate cud-forming fractures. A retained cud occurs when the die rim cracks under repeated striking stress but the fractured segment does not fully separate, remaining attached to the die body and producing a raised but connected anomaly on the coin's rim area. The singular catalog entry — 01, the only retained cud documented for the 1858 Large Letters — may reflect either limited die deterioration or simply the relatively small collector community focused on Flying Eagle cent die varieties compared to the extensively studied Lincoln and Indian Head cent series. Cataloged by the Cuds on Coins service with no cross-references, this variety documents die behavior during the earliest years of small cent production.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Thomas Johnson
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References