PC-1c-1862-03R Pre-Cud

Description

Third pre-cud cataloged on the reverse of the 1862 Indian Head cent by the Cuds on Coins attribution service, PC-1c-1862-03R records an incipient die rim fracture on James B. Longacre's copper-nickel cent reverse. The designation structure identifies this as a pre-cud (PC) on the one-cent denomination (1c), dated 1862, and the third reverse (03R) pre-cud documented for this issue. Pre-cuds capture an early stage of progressive die failure: the die rim has cracked under the repetitive stress of striking but the fractured piece remains in place, still transferring the complete design to struck coins while producing a visible raised line or ridge at the crack boundary. The 1862 cent was minted in the copper-nickel alloy (88% copper, 12% nickel) that characterized the Indian Head cent from 1860 through 1864, and this harder composition demanded greater striking force than the earlier large copper cents, placing increased stress on die rims. Philadelphia's 1862 production of approximately 28.08 million cents reflected the urgent coinage demands of the Civil War period — with silver coins vanishing from circulation due to wartime hoarding, small-denomination base-metal coins became essential for everyday commerce, and production volume was pushed to meet this demand. With at least four documented reverse pre-cuds (03R and 04R among them), the 1862 Indian Head cent provides a case study in the die stress patterns that affected Civil War-era cent production, where the combination of hard alloy, high production demands, and the physical limitations of mid-nineteenth-century die steel created conditions favorable to rim fracturing. No additional cross-references are noted. Collectors should examine the reverse rim carefully under magnification, looking for a raised hairline ridge following the crack path where the die began fracturing without the complete material loss seen in full cud breaks.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Author BJ Neff
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References