CU-100c-1979D-02R Rim Cud

Description

Struck during the inaugural year of the Susan B. Anthony dollar, this 1979-D rim cud documents die failure on a denomination that was itself a bold experiment in American coinage. CU-100c-1979D-02R, cataloged by Cuds on Coins with no cross-references to other attribution systems, represents the second documented reverse rim cud for the 1979-D SBA dollar. The Susan B. Anthony dollar, designed by Frank Gasparro, was introduced in 1979 as a replacement for the large Eisenhower dollar, featuring a significantly smaller diameter (26.5mm versus 38.1mm) intended to reduce production costs and improve commercial handling. Denver struck 288.0 million SBA dollars in 1979, a massive first-year production that reflected optimistic expectations for public acceptance -- expectations that would prove overly ambitious as the coin's similarity in size to the quarter dollar generated widespread confusion and resistance. The SBA dollar's copper-nickel clad composition over a copper core created a planchet that was relatively hard for its size, and the high-relief design elements -- particularly the eagle landing on the moon reverse -- placed substantial demands on dies. Rim cuds on dollar-denomination coins are generally less common in collector inventories than those on smaller denominations, partly because the larger planchet requires more force to produce a cud of equivalent proportional size and partly because SBA dollars saw limited circulation life, reducing the pool of examined coins. The reverse rim position (indicated by the "R" suffix) means the cud appears on the eagle-and-moon side, potentially obscuring portions of the lunar landing vignette or the surrounding stars.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Fred Weinberg
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References