CU-1C-1803-09 Cud

Description

Ninth in the cud catalog for the 1803 Draped Bust Large Cent, CU-1C-1803-09 records a die break at a different position than the other documented cuds for this date — each catalog number represents a distinct fracture location on the die rim, mapping where the steel failed under repeated striking. Early Mint dies were forged from soft iron or low-carbon steel, hardened through case-hardening that produced a thin hard surface over a softer core, and when the hardened shell cracked, the underlying metal could not sustain the fracture boundary, allowing rim sections to break free. The 1803 Draped Bust cent features Anne Willing Bingham’s portrait as Liberty on the obverse and a wreath on the reverse, hand-engraved into each working die from hub punches and manual tools. The existence of nine or more cataloged cuds for a single early date testifies to the fragility of the dies and the Mint’s practice of continuing to use damaged dies until they became unusable. For collectors of early American copper, each cud variety offers tangible evidence of the mechanical challenges that defined coinage production in the Republic’s first decades.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Friscomint1793 on eBay
• CU-1C-1803-09
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References