1867 Shield Nickel - No Rays - RCD-5c-1867-07 Retained Cud

Description

Cataloged for the 1867 Shield Nickel No Rays, RCD-5c-1867-07 preserves an instance of rim fracture on this early American base-metal coinage. The Shield Nickel series introduced at the end of the Civil War represented a significant departure in American coin production — the copper-nickel composition was harder and more resistant to wear than the silver alloys used for the half dime it replaced, but this hardness also placed greater demands on the steel dies used to strike them. The retained cud mechanism — a rim fragment that cracks free of the die but is held in place rather than falling out — produces coins bearing a distinctive raised area whose design is still present, carried on a plateau or set out of line with the adjacent engraving.

External References