RCD-1c-1865-01R Retained Cud

Description

First documented reverse retained cud for the 1865 Indian Head cent with the plain 5 date variant, RCD-1c-1865-01R records a die rim fracture on James B. Longacre's one-cent coinage during the final year of the Civil War. The designation parses as RCD for retained cud, 1c for the cent denomination, 1865 for the date, and 01R marking the first reverse retained cud cataloged for this issue. The 1865 Indian Head cent was struck in the copper-nickel composition (88% copper, 12% nickel) that had been standard since 1860, a relatively hard alloy that placed greater stress on coining dies compared to the pure copper large cents it replaced. Philadelphia produced approximately 35.43 million Indian Head cents in 1865, a mintage reflecting robust wartime and immediate post-war demand for small change after the hoarding that had stripped coins from circulation during the early war years. Longacre's design features the Indian Head (actually Liberty wearing a feathered headdress) on the obverse and an oak wreath with shield on the reverse — the wreath's fine detail and the shield's geometric elements creating areas where die fractures disrupt the design in distinctive ways. A retained cud on the reverse indicates the die rim cracked but the fractured segment remained in place, producing a raised or flattened region on struck coins where the die's damaged section failed to fully impress the design into the planchet. The "Plain 5" designation distinguishes this from the "Fancy 5" variety found on some 1865 cents, referring to the style of the numeral 5 in the date. Cataloged by the Cuds on Coins service with no known cross-references, this variety stands as the sole documented reverse retained cud for the date, suggesting either limited die deterioration on 1865 reverse dies or simply that additional examples await discovery.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Daniel Carr
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References