1866 Indian Head Cent - CU-1c-1866-03 Rim Cud

Description

Produced in the first full year of Reconstruction following the Civil War, the 1866 Indian Head Cent carrying cud CU-1c-1866-03 was struck on the bronze composition (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc) that replaced the copper-nickel alloy in 1864. This metallurgical change meant softer planchets than their copper-nickel predecessors, altering the stress dynamics between die and planchet during striking. The rim cud represents the loss of part of the die's rim gutter, which shows on subsequent strikes as a raised interruption in the design rim that tracks the rim's course. The 1866 Indian Head Cent had a mintage of approximately 9.8 million pieces — modest by later standards but significant for the immediate postwar period when the nation's monetary system was recovering from wartime disruptions including the suspension of specie payments. Longacre's Indian Head design was by then in its eighth year, and the combination of low mintage and bronze composition makes surviving 1866 specimens less common than later dates. CU-1c-1866-03 documents the third cataloged rim cud for this date, indicating multiple die failures across the production run.

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