1796 Draped Bust Large Cent (Reverse of 1795) Obverse Cud

Description

An obverse cud die break marks this 1796 Draped Bust Large Cent of the Reverse of 1795 variety, where a section of the die along the rim outside the letters TY in LIBERTY broke away and extended clockwise. The fracture left a raised, featureless area on struck coins—the hallmark of a cud, where the missing die fragment means no design is imparted to that portion of the planchet. The 1796 Draped Bust cent occupies a transitional position in early American coinage, as the Mint used both the older Reverse of 1795 wreath design and the newer Reverse of 1797 configuration during this single year. Surviving examples of any 1796 large cent variety are scarce, as mintages in the earliest years of the United States Mint were modest and attrition over two centuries has reduced populations significantly. A cud break on a coin of this vintage adds die-failure documentation to an already historically significant issue. Early copper coinage is susceptible to die damage because the soft copper planchets placed tremendous stress on hand-engraved dies, and rim breaks are among the most common failure modes observed on large cents of the 1790s. A section of the obverse die along the rim outside of the "TY" in "Liberty" and extending some clockwise, broke away, creating a raised, featureless area on the struck coin.

Attribution History

• Discovered by NumisDexDealer