1869 Indian Head Cent - RCD-1c-1869-01R Retained Cud

Description

Documenting the first retained reverse cud on the 1869 Indian Head cent, RCD-1c-1869-01R captures a die rim fracture on James Barton Longacre's enduring small cent design during the post-Civil War Reconstruction era. The Indian Head cent — more accurately depicting Liberty wearing a Native American headdress — was struck from 1859 through 1909 and underwent a composition change from copper-nickel to bronze in 1864. By 1869, the bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) had been standard for five years, and Philadelphia Mint was the sole production facility, striking approximately 6.42 million cents for this date. The relatively modest mintage makes 1869 Indian Head cents a conditionally scarce issue even without variety attribution, and die failure varieties add a further dimension of rarity. A retained cud on the reverse indicates that a section of the reverse die rim cracked under the repetitive stress of striking and broke free of the die body, but was held in place rather than falling out. The retained fragment creates a distinctive diagnostic on struck coins — a raised, flattened, or shelf-like disturbance near the rim where the loose die segment, broken completely free, sits out of level with the surrounding design. Unlike a full cud where the detached piece leaves a design-free raised blob, a retained cud shows its design elements intact, though at a slightly different plane than the surrounding detail or out of line with it. Cataloged by Cuds on Coins with no known cross-references, RCD-1c-1869-01R represents a notable find on a 19th-century minor coinage issue where die failures were less systematically cataloged than on 20th-century series. Collectors should inspect the reverse rim under low-angle lighting at 10-20x magnification to identify the characteristic shelf or disturbance marking the retained fracture.

Cross References

• Cross reference number: none. 10/13/2018.

External References