1913 Buffalo Nickel - Type 2 - CU-5C-1913-08R Rim Cud

Description

First-year Type 2 Buffalo Nickels occupy a distinctive position in American numismatic history, and CU-5C-1913-08R documents a rim cud on one of these inaugural coins. James Earle Fraser's iconic design debuted in 1913, initially with the Type 1 reverse featuring FIVE CENTS on a raised mound beneath the bison. Partway through the year, the Mint revised the reverse to the Type 2 configuration, recessing the denomination into a flat field below the animal — a change made to reduce premature wear on the value inscription. CU-5C-1913-08R identifies a reverse rim cud on a Philadelphia-struck Type 2 specimen, cataloged in the CudsOnCoins system. The cud itself resulted from a fracture along the edge of the reverse die, where part of the die's rim gutter was lost, leaving a raised interruption in the design rim, following its curve, on every coin subsequently struck. Rim cuds on first-year Type 2 Buffalo Nickels are particularly notable because the design modification mid-year means fewer dies were prepared for the Type 2 configuration than for a full production run, narrowing the window in which such die failures could occur.

Cross References

• CU-5C-1913-08R

External References