1864 Two Cent Piece - Large Motto - RCD-2c-1864-04R Retained Cud

Description

RCD-2c-1864-04R was cataloged by the Cuds on Coins attribution service on an 1864 Two Cent Piece. The two cent piece, designed by James B. Longacre, holds the distinction of being the first United States coin to bear the motto IN GOD WE TRUST — introduced in 1864 amid the religious sentiment and patriotic fervor of the Civil War. The Large Motto, with larger letters in the motto than the Small Motto, accounts for all but a few thousand of the nearly 20 million two-cent pieces struck at Philadelphia that year. The retained cud on the reverse places the die failure on the side bearing Longacre's wheat wreath encircling the denomination "2 CENTS," where a rim-connected crack developed and the fractured die section broke free but was held in place, sinking under striking pressure to create a raised, shelf-like displacement on the coin surface. Two cent pieces are substantially larger and thicker than contemporary cents, requiring greater striking force and subjecting dies to correspondingly higher mechanical stresses. Collectors examining two cent pieces for retained cuds should scrutinize the reverse rim under magnification, looking for areas where the normally sharp rim-to-design transition shows a raised disturbance with faint underlying design detail visible beneath the displaced metal — a diagnostic signature distinguishing retained cuds from post-strike damage or environmental corrosion.

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