1802 Draped Bust Large Cent S-232 Reverse Cud

Description

Preserving a dramatic die failure from the earliest years of the United States Mint, this reverse cud on the 1802 Draped Bust large cent documents the moment when a section of the reverse die broke away from the rim just outside the letters ATE in STATES, creating a raised, featureless mass on struck coins. The Sheldon reference number S-232 identifies this specific die marriage within the comprehensive catalog of early large cent die pairs developed by William H. Sheldon in his landmark 1949 work "Early American Cents." The Draped Bust large cent design, featuring Liberty with flowing hair and draped bust on the obverse and a wreath encircling ONE CENT on the reverse, was produced from 1796 through 1807 under the direction of Mint engravers Robert Scot and John Eckstein. Philadelphia — the sole mint facility during this period — struck an estimated 3.44 million large cents in 1802, though exact production figures for early Mint dates are complicated by the practice of using dies across calendar years. The cud's position just outside ATE in STATES places it in the upper-right quadrant of the reverse, where the wreath and national inscription approach the rim. Early American copper cents are particularly valued for their die varieties because each die pair was individually hand-engraved, making every combination unique, and the Sheldon numbering system has become the standard classification framework for these coins. Cuds on early coppers hold special significance because they document the limits of the early Mint's die-making technology, where hand-crafted dies of variable steel quality were subjected to the mechanical stress of striking soft copper planchets at the 29mm large cent diameter. The raised featureless mass at the ATE location is typically visible without magnification, though a loupe confirms the specific die marriage.

Attribution History

• Discovered by NumisDexDealer
• Sheldon S-232