1863 Indian Head Cent - PC-1c-1863-13R Pre-Cud

Description

Thirteenth pre-cud cataloged on the reverse of the 1863 Indian Head cent, PC-1c-1863-13R was documented on December 14, 2018 by the Cuds on Coins attribution service. This entry extends the already substantial pre-cud census for the 1863 date, which accumulated at least sixteen documented reverse examples — a frequency that underscores the mechanical challenges of striking copper-nickel cents during the Civil War period. Philadelphia's 1863 production of approximately 49.84 million cents was among the highest in the Indian Head series to that point, reflecting both military payroll demand and the commercial need for circulating coinage even as hoarding reduced effective coin supply. James B. Longacre's design required dies that could reproduce the fine detail of the feathered headdress on the obverse and the intricate oak wreath with shield on the reverse — demanding design complexity that concentrated striking forces unevenly across the die face and contributed to the rim fractures that generate pre-cuds. The copper-nickel alloy's hardness compared to bronze meant that each strike transmitted more force back into the die steel, accelerating the fatigue process that leads to cracking. The December 2018 cataloging date places this discovery within the systematic documentation effort that has characterized the Cuds on Coins project, where collectors submit photographs of die break varieties for professional evaluation and catalog assignment. Collectors should examine the reverse rim under 10-15x magnification for the characteristic thin raised line that marks a pre-cud fracture trace.

Cross References

• Cross reference: none. 12/14/2018.

External References