1811 Classic Head Half Cent Cud

Description

On a key-date 1811 Classic Head Half Cent with a mintage of just 63,140 pieces, this cud extends from approximately 7:00 to 9:30 on the obverse, running through the bottom four stars of the design. Cuds form when a section of the die rim fractures and separates, leaving a cavity that fills with metal during striking to produce a raised featureless mass — and on a coin this scarce, the die variety adds another dimension of rarity. The 1811 is the Close Date variety, one of the lower-mintage issues in John Reich's Classic Head Half Cent series (1809-1836), struck in copper at the Philadelphia Mint. The span from 7:00 to 9:30 indicates a substantial rim fracture covering roughly 75 degrees of the die circumference and obliterating four of the thirteen obverse stars. Die varieties on early American copper are tracked with particular rigor, and a cud on a key-date half cent represents a convergence of die variety interest and date rarity that appeals to both early copper specialists and error collectors. A cud occurs when a piece of the die breaks away at the rim, leaving a raised, featureless blob of metal on the struck coin where the broken portion of the die could no longer impart the design.

Attribution History

• Discovered by NumisDexDealer