RCD-1c-1838-01R Retained Cud

Description

Reaching back into the pre-Civil War era of American coinage, RCD-1c-1838-01R records the first cataloged reverse retained cud on the 1838 Modified Matron Head Coronet Head cent — a design attributed to Christian Gobrecht's modification of Robert Scot's original Matron Head large cent. The designation follows the standard naming convention: RCD for retained cud, 1c for the one-cent denomination, 1838 for the date, and 01R indicating the first reverse retained cud identified for this issue. The Modified Matron Head Coronet Head cent series (1835-1839) represents a transitional design period in U.S. large cent production, bridging the earlier Matron Head type and the subsequent Braided Hair design that would follow in 1839-1857. Philadelphia struck large cents as the sole mint facility in this era, producing these substantial copper coins (approximately 27.5mm in diameter) that circulated heavily in everyday commerce. Retained cuds develop when a working die cracks near the rim and a fragment begins to separate but remains held in position by the collar or surrounding die structure, creating a raised mass of displaced metal on the struck coin corresponding to the partially detached die fragment. On the large cent's reverse — featuring a wreath encircling ONE CENT — a rim-area retained cud would manifest as a raised blob or shelf of metal extending from the rim inward toward the wreath or denomination. The 01R designation as the first retained cud cataloged for 1838 establishes the baseline documentation for die break varieties on this Modified Matron Head date, and the pre-Civil War era of this variety makes it a particularly early example in the historical spectrum of documented die breaks on U.S. coinage, reflecting die performance on hand-operated screw presses rather than the steam-powered equipment that would follow.

Attribution History

• Discovered by Chuck Newman
• Expert attribution by Cuds on Coins

External References