1864 Two Cent Piece - Large Motto - RCD-2c-1864-03 Retained Cud

Description

Cataloged by Cuds on Coins, RCD-2c-1864-03 is a retained cud on an 1864 Two Cent Piece, a denomination that holds the distinction of being the first U.S. coin to bear the motto IN GOD WE TRUST, introduced during the Civil War as a reflection of the nation's religious sentiment during wartime crisis. A retained cud forms when a rim section of the die fractures and breaks loose but stays in approximate position, producing a raised, displaced area on struck coins that keeps its design. James B. Longacre designed the Two Cent Piece, which features a shield with a ribbon inscribed IN GOD WE TRUST on the obverse and a wreath enclosing the denomination on the reverse. The "Large Motto" designation distinguishes the 1864 variety where the motto letters are rendered in a larger, bolder style from the "Small Motto" variant of the same year. Philadelphia struck about 19.8 million Two Cent Pieces in 1864, Large Motto and Small Motto together,, the inaugural year of the denomination that would continue through 1873 with progressively declining mintages. No cross-references from other attribution services have been established.

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