CU-1C-1796-02 Cud

Description

Second documented cud for the 1796 Liberty Cap Cent, CU-1C-1796-02 records a rim die break on one of the earliest American large cents — a coin struck just four years after the U.S. Mint began operations in Philadelphia in 1792. The Liberty Cap design, featuring a Liberty head with a Phrygian cap on the obverse and a chain or wreath on the reverse, was produced from 1793 to 1796 and represents some of the most primitive coinage in American history. Dies for these early cents were individually hand-engraved rather than hubbed, and the relatively soft die steel available in the late eighteenth century made rim fractures a persistent problem, as the technology of die hardening was still evolving. The 1796 Liberty Cap Cent had an estimated mintage of only about 109,825 pieces, making any variety from this date exceptionally scarce. Cross-referenced as CU-1C-1796-02 by Cuds on Coins with no additional cross-references, this cud variety is significant both as a die failure document and as an early American numismatic artifact. Cuds on large cents from the 1790s are profoundly rare in any condition, and surviving specimens command intense interest from both die variety collectors and early American copper specialists. The Liberty Cap series ended in 1796 when the Mint transitioned to the Draped Bust design, making this final year's cuds the last examples of rim failure on one of the inaugural U.S. cent designs.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Friscomint1793 on eBay
• CU-1C-1796-02; None.
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References