RCD-1c-1862-02R Retained Cud

Description

Second retained cud cataloged for the 1862 Indian Head cent reverse by the Cuds on Coins attribution service, RCD-1c-1862-02R documents an advanced die failure where a rim fragment has cracked and partially separated but remains connected to the main die body. The designation follows the standard format: RCD for retained cud, 1c for the one-cent denomination, 1862 for the date, and 02R indicating the second reverse retained cud identified. James B. Longacre's Indian Head cent features Liberty wearing a feathered headdress on the obverse and, for the 1860-1909 type, an oak wreath with shield encircling ONE CENT on the reverse. Philadelphia struck approximately 28.08 million Indian Head cents in 1862, the second year of the American Civil War, when the disappearance of gold and silver coins from circulation was placing enormous pressure on copper-nickel small change as the only coinage regularly encountered in daily commerce. Retained cuds represent a more advanced stage of die deterioration than pre-cuds — where a pre-cud shows only an incipient crack, a retained cud indicates the crack has propagated far enough that a die fragment has begun to physically separate, creating a raised shelf or blob of metal on struck coins as planchet metal fills the widening gap between the detached fragment and the intact die surface. The copper-nickel alloy (88% copper, 12% nickel) used for Indian Head cents during 1860-1864 was harder than the later bronze composition, generating elevated striking stresses that accelerated die cracking. Two documented reverse retained cuds for 1862, combined with the seven pre-cuds cataloged under the PC designation, paint a picture of active die deterioration across the 1862 production run — expected given the wartime demand that pushed dies through extended service periods.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References