1835 Matron Head Large Cent (Small 8, Stars) N-4 Reverse Cud

Description

A significant die failure on the reverse of an 1835 Matron Head Large Cent, Newcomb variety N-4 (Small 8 with Stars), this cud documents a catastrophic rim break where a piece of the reverse die broke away entirely from the rim through the letters NITED in UNITED. When the broken fragment separated from the die, it left a cavity that filled with metal during subsequent strikes, producing a raised, featureless area on the coin where the missing die material could no longer impress design detail into the planchet. The cud extends from outside the rim through five letters of UNITED, indicating a substantial die fragment was lost — this is not a minor rim chip but a significant structural failure that removed a meaningful portion of the design. The Newcomb cataloging system, established by Howard R. Newcomb in the early 20th century, provides the standard die variety attribution for large cents, and N-4 identifies the specific obverse-reverse die marriage. The "Small 8, Stars" designation distinguishes this variety from other 1835 die pairings by specifying the style of the 8 digit and the presence of stars in the design configuration. Matron Head large cents, struck from 1816 through 1835, feature the design commonly attributed to Robert Scot with modifications by John Reich, depicting Liberty wearing a coronet inscribed LIBERTY. The 1835 date marks the final year of the Matron Head type before the transition to the Braided Hair design. Large cents of this era were struck on heavy copper planchets at the Philadelphia Mint, and the striking forces involved in producing these 28mm coins placed significant stress on dies, making rim breaks and cuds a documented feature of the series.

Attribution History

• Discovered by NumisDexDealer
• Newcomb N-4