1863 Indian Head Cent - CU-1c-1863-13 Rim Cud

Description

Bearing catalog number CU-1c-1863-13, this rim cud on an 1863 Indian Head Cent represents the thirteenth documented cud variety for a date produced entirely at the Philadelphia Mint during the height of the American Civil War. The die rim failure that created this cud — the loss of part of the die's rim gutter — left its mark as a raised interruption in the design rim that tracks the rim's course. The 1863 Indian Head Cent holds a transitional place in the series: it was the last full year of the copper-nickel composition before the Mint switched to bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) in 1864, driven partly by wartime nickel shortages. The harder copper-nickel planchets subjected dies to greater stress with each strike, potentially accelerating the kind of rim failures that produce cuds. Thirteen documented cud varieties for a single date indicates substantial research attention, and the Civil War provenance adds historical weight that elevates these coins beyond their numismatic classification. Each cud records a specific moment of die failure in Philadelphia's wartime coin production.

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