1865 Two Cent Piece - RCD-2c-1865-09R Retained Cud

Description

Die crack on the reverse running from the rim to the E in STATES, marked by white arrows in the original documentation, accompanies this retained cud on the 1865 Two Cent Piece — a variety where the fractured rim section broke free of the die but was held in place rather than falling out. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins as RCD-2c-1865-09R, this variety preserves evidence of a die in transitional failure: the crack had propagated from the rim inward to the lettering and the broken segment had come loose, but it was held in place, producing a raised area on struck coins that still carries its design. Philadelphia struck 13,640,000 Two Cent Pieces in 1865, the denomination's second year of production, driven by the Civil War-era shortage of small change that had prompted the denomination's creation in 1864. The retained cud mechanism represents an intermediate state between a simple die crack and a full cud, and the accompanying rim-to-E die crack documents the fracture path that would eventually lead to complete separation if the die remained in service. James B. Longacre's shield design and the denomination's historical significance as the first IN GOD WE TRUST coin add collecting context to this die failure documentation.

External References