CU-5c-1866-05 Cud

Description

Bearing the distinction of first-year-of-issue status, this 1866 Shield Nickel with Rays cud documents a die rim failure from the very debut of the five-cent nickel denomination in American coinage. The Shield Nickel, designed by James Barton Longacre, introduced the 75% copper and 25% nickel alloy that would define the denomination for over a century. The 1866 "with Rays" subtype features decorative rays between the stars on the reverse — a design element removed after just two years due to striking difficulties caused by the high-relief detail opposing the obverse shield. Five documented cuds for this inaugural date (this being the fifth in the Cuds on Coins catalog) suggest that the new alloy and demanding design pushed die steel to its limits. A cud forms when a rim section fractures and separates, leaving a cavity that produces a raised featureless mass during striking. The Shield Nickel series (1866-1883) marked a deliberate transition away from the tiny silver half dimes that had previously served as the five-cent coin, and first-year die varieties carry heightened significance as artifacts of this pivotal denominational shift.

Attribution History

• Cross reference: none. See CU-5c-1866-05 Rim Cud.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References