RCD-2c-1865-01R Retained Cud

Description

Bearing the Cuds on Coins designation RCD-2c-1865-01R, this retained cud appears on the 1865 Two Cent Piece with Plain 5 date logotype — the first documented reverse retained cud for this date. The Two Cent Piece holds a singular place in numismatic history as the first United States coin to carry IN GOD WE TRUST, introduced on the denomination's inaugural 1864 issue during the Civil War. A retained cud forms when a die crack propagates to the rim and the fractured section remains lodged, pressing a raised irregular mass into each planchet until the die is retired. The 1865 issue exists in two date varieties: the Plain 5 features a simple, unadorned digit, while the Fancy 5 displays an ornamental rendering with a curved flag. The bronze composition of 95% copper with tin and zinc produced planchets receptive to fine die detail, ensuring retained cud impressions are well-defined on Two Cent Pieces. For specialists in this short-lived denomination — produced only from 1864 through 1873 — the first reverse retained cud establishes the baseline for die failure documentation on the Plain 5 sub-variety.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References