1869 Shield Nickel - RCD-5c-1869-08 Retained Cud

Description

RCD-5c-1869-08 is a retained cud from one of the working dies that developed retained rim breaks during the year's Shield Nickel production. Retained cuds provide tangible evidence of the metallurgical forces at work during coining — each strike delivered approximately 40 tons of pressure through the die face, and the hard nickel composition transmitted that force back into the die steel with greater intensity than softer metals like copper or silver, accelerating fatigue and crack propagation. The Shield Nickel's design features — Longacre's prominent shield on the obverse and the bold numeral 5 within a wreath on the reverse — combined with the rim's raised border to create stress concentration points where cracks most readily initiated. Struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 75% copper and 25% nickel at 5.0 grams during the Reconstruction era. The catalog code reads RCD (retained cud), 5c (denomination), 1869 (year), and 08 (sequence). Examine the rim for the retained fracture and its associated zone of distorted design relief.

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