1888 Indian Head Cent - CU-1c-1888-01 Rim Cud

Description

Approaching the series' thirtieth year of production, the 1888 Indian Head Cent bearing cud CU-1c-1888-01 was struck when James B. Longacre's design had become one of the most familiar images in American commerce. The mintage of approximately 37.5 million pieces placed it in the mature production range of the late 1880s, a period when the design had reached full refinement and the Philadelphia Mint's die-making capabilities were well established. A rim cud represents the loss of part of the die's rim gutter: on the coin it appears as a raised interruption in the design rim that tracks the rim's course. As the sole cataloged cud for 1888, CU-1c-1888-01 suggests either that die rim failures were uncommon for this date or that surviving examples have not been widely reported. The 1888 Indian Head Cent is also notable for the 1888/7 overdate variety, one of the most sought-after entries in the entire series, though the cud documented here is an entirely separate die failure unrelated to the overdate.

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