CU-1c-1905-02R Cud

Description

Second reverse cud documented for the 1905 Indian Head Cent, CU-1c-1905-02R records another instance of complete die rim separation on the wreath reverse of this late-series date. The 1905 Indian Head was produced exclusively at Philadelphia with a mintage of approximately 80.7 million pieces — one of the higher production years for the series — meaning that many die pairs were employed and each was subject to the mechanical stresses that could culminate in rim fracture. Two documented reverse cuds from this date indicates that rim failures occurred across at least two different reverse dies during the production run, with each cud representing a unique die's catastrophic end-stage deterioration. The Indian Head Cent was in its twilight years by 1905, with only four more dates remaining before the design yielded to Victor David Brenner's Lincoln portrait in 1909. Production techniques for the Indian Head design had been refined over more than four decades of continuous manufacture, but no amount of process maturity could eliminate die rim stress as an inherent consequence of high-volume coining. The "02R" designation places this as the second cataloged reverse cud, meaning it was the second to be discovered and reported rather than the second to be produced chronologically. Cud collectors pursuing Indian Head Cent date sets find the early 1900s dates well-represented in surviving populations due to their relatively high mintages and shorter time in circulation compared to earlier dates in the series, though individual cud varieties remain uncommon relative to the total number of surviving coins from any given date.

External References